Look Through Orange Eyes
by Sir Butt
Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi had always been different. The dubbed 'dame' teen is a person who can see the dead, not that anyone knows about it. He was fine with his 'dame' life until Reborn waltz in and claimed him to be the future boss of a mafia famiglia.
1. Who he is

**Title : Look Through Orange Eyes**

 **Chapter 1 : Who he is.**

Sawada Tsunayoshi was different. He always had been.

No. Not because he was 'dame' or a borderline failure in everything he does. Not because he was an embarrassment to society or the joke of God Himself.

He had orange glowing eyes that can see a world invisible to others.

 _Fading figures comforting the wailers holding the hand of a dying beloved in their hospital bed._

 _A lone shadow-less silhouette standing, staring at the familiar bloody body on the road after a road accident._

 _Screaming shadows desperately trying to get the attention of humans walking in a busy street. Their screams always fell on deaf ears as those who had physical bodies passed through them._

 _Ghostly people leaning against tombstones as if they were only sleeping peacefully, but Tsuna could see chains holding them to the ground, forbidding them to fully move on to the afterlife; be it heaven or hell._

Yes. Sawada Tsunayoshi can see spirits.

He hated being the only one able to see these so-called _imaginary friends_ , hated not being able to share that beautiful yet painful world with anyone.

Nobody believed him. Everybody made fun of him, mocking the freak for talking to the wall or avoiding empty spaces. They teased him till day ends and the sky's cycle repeats. Sometimes would they turn physically violent towards the tiny brunet just for the laugh of it.

Many hated poor Dame-Tsuna, the no-good 'kid' who can't do anything right, who still talked to imaginary friends since he had _none_.

Useless as he was, he never did anything wrong. He never hurt anything or anyone. So why did people automatically act very negative towards him?

Even his mother became the neighborhood's topic of mockery. Thank goodness for his mother's obliviousness or else… or else… or else what? There's nothing his weak-ass dame self could do.

He hated it. He hated the living world's hostility.

But he never hated his ability to see spirits... most of the times.

Being around them, Tsuna feel free despite the many times his life almost ended because of said spirits. Each time a spirit latched itself onto Tsuna, it would slowly feed on the boy's life force until he removed their regrets. To summarize the whole situation, the longer they stayed, the shorter his life would be.

Tsuna knew of the price he had to pay every time a spirit 'possesses' him, and he knew he'll die if he allowed them to latch onto him for long periods of time. He either had to eliminate their life regrets or exorcise them with the power that comes naturally to him.

Of course, he preferred the previous option, not that exorcising is difficult, but because he _wanted_ to help the spirits move on.

Technically speaking, to Sawada Tsunayoshi, spirits are parasites feeding off his life force. But he didn't mind. He loved the dead too much to let their suffering drag on.

Death shouldn't be painful. Death shouldn't be filled with regrets. When one had to cross the afterlife, the world should send them off with a smile, not bound them in an open prison where they can never walk free, void of their own living or dead body.

Tsuna wanted to break as much of those chains as possible. He wanted them to be free. For that, he'll do everything he can to get them to the other side.

It wasn't his given duty nor a compulsory to lift the regrets of spirits. He did it because he can, and he loved seeing the last smiles spirits gave him after being released from their shackles of regret. Tsuna's own soul melt with joy and relief.

For every soul he helped, for better or worse, he sent them off with a smile straight from his heart. 'Everyone should be free.' he believed. With boundless sincerity reaching beyond the realm of living, as long as the dead is at peace as they should, Tsuna was perfectly content with his life.

He wouldn't ask for anything more.

.

Somewhere in Italy, the world's number 1 hitman boarded a jet as he looked at his future student's picture one more time. Everything about the boy in the picture screamed 'dame'.

Scrawny, short, plain, weak.

According to Vongola informants, Sawada Tsunayoshi had no talent in anything whatsoever, zero athletic skills, academic scores below 20, friendless, often seen monologuing, etc.

The last few bit seemed a little creepy.

'Great. Someone worse than Dino.'

"Worse, but not impossible." the hitman told himself.

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **~ Short first chapter is short. I'm not sure how long/short future chapters will be.**

 **~ I use a single dot as a line-break since ffnet is a butt sometimes and those lines won't show.**

 **~ Bound to be OOC since Tsuna lived an entirely different life compared to the original manga.**

 **~ I cry for my English grammar. English is my third language and understanding its grammar is very… askfjbaskfja. I don't have a beta, so please bear with me. Q_Q)**

 **R.I.P. English.**

 **~ There will be no OCs. No ghostly childhood friend. No demon working in a coffee shop who happened to know what Tsuna can do. No personal summons who became Tsuna's familiar/servant or something like that.**

 **Heads up. Giotto will make an appearance, though it will only be him. The rest of Primo's guardian had… moved on…?**

 **~ First KHR fic posted. Please tell me if it's weird.**

( pisses me off when an author's note feels longer than the actual chapter *kicked by everybody* )

31082015, 03062016


	2. Mission

**Title : Look Through Orange Eyes**

 **Chapter 2 : Mission**

3 : 57 a.m.

Tsuna woke up with a sudden cold feeling in his chest. The singing ache in his bones warned him of a coming tragedy. Either that, or it already happened.

He wished he could do something about it, something to prevent the sinking feeling of disaster from happening. Unfortunately, in such cases, his so-called Hyper Intuition couldn't pinpoint an exact location to start his daily _missions_.

The brunet sighed in defeat. Whatever it was that flared his senses, he had no choice but to wait for a more obvious sign.

Brain lag and sleepiness later, he finally saw the ghost floating above him in clear view.

"Mmm good morning, Giotto."

" _Buon giorno_ , Tsuna." Black mantle fluttered ethereally behind Giotto. Even without the wind's interference, the mantle danced freely in the air, defying the laws of physics. "Did you sleep well? 2 hours isn't much. Do you need me to take over?"

"You ask the same thing _every_ morning."

"It's because I'm _worried_ about you, Tsunayoshi. Recently, you've been pushing yourself beyond any normal human's limit! Eh… Not that you're normal… But still!"

Tsuna only laughed. His voice sounded so pure, so innocent. But Giotto knew better. Under the sparkling exterior hid a weight none knew about. It made Tsuna seemed older, made him tired and weary than a teen his age should be.

"I'm fine. Really." came a soft reply from Tsuna, radiant smile adorned his pale face as he looked into the ghost's eyes. "I'll do my best today. If something happens and I magically lose consciousness again, I'll surrender everything to you, Gio."

Giotto smiled back. "Of course."

Tsuna washed up and put on his uniform, though he had a feeling he won't be going to school for the day. It didn't matter. After being bitten to death by one Hibari Kyoya for violating school dress code for the past 6 years, it had become a habit for Tsuna to perfectly wear the local school uniform every day.

That includes Saturdays and Sundays.

Thanks, Hibari.

As usual, Tsuna cooked a simple meal for himself, leaving none for his mom. He didn't want to risk poisoning the poor woman like last time. Once in his days of innocence, he swore to learn cooking for the sake of dear mother. Unfortunately, every attempt he made either turned carefully mixed ingredients into poison, or rocks.

Giotto was baffled by his descendant's questionable cooking skills, something along the lines of 'how in the world did soup turned to charcoal?'

Yes. Never again.

Tsuna was about to leave to school when Giotto stopped him.

"Tsuna. You're forgetting something.."

"Oh. Right." Tsuna went back up to his room and took out the pair of glasses from his desk drawer, letting the orange frame sit on the bridge of his nose, perfectly hiding the soft glow emitted from his eyes.

It would be bad if someone noticed the ghostly gleam in those orange orbs.

.

One step outside his house gate, Tsuna immediately eyed on the mailbox. He felt something screaming inside; something he wouldn't like. Perhaps that was what made his senses sing when he woke up.

Then again, it felt different. Whatever it is, the thing in the mailbox wasn't his to take. He wasn't sure how he knew. He just did.

In the end, he left the thing and headed towards school.

"Scary how our intuitions are in tune with each other." commented Giotto, floating beside Tsuna without a care for gravity ( much like his hair ).

"You know… You're free to express what your hyper intuition detects without waiting for me to say it first."

"I hate to invade your privacy more than I already have, Tsuna."

Tsuna hated Giotto sometimes, especially when the blond felt somewhat unwelcome around him.

"Giotto, I don't mind. It's okay to be yourself around me. Being a ghost doesn't mean you have to stop acting human. Besides, I have no rights to reprimand you of anything." Tsuna stared sharply into Giotto's cloudy eyes. He wasn't going to let the ghost revert back to his initial quiet and detached behavior.

"Plus, it's lonely when there's no ancient italian ghost bothering me 24/7." Tsuna added.

"But…" _I'm slowly killing you…_

"God, Giotto. I thought we are long passed the 'regret' phrase. For the last time,-"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." interrupted a third voice.

Standing outside of Nami-chuu's gate was none other than the demon of Namimori himself. Said demon had his arms crossed, Namimori DC blazer hung loosely from his shoulders. Somewhere around his body, a dimensional pocket hid a pair of metal tonfas, ready to _bite_ in combat.

Tsuna bowed in respect before smiling brightly at him. "Good morning, Kyoya-san."

"Hn." Hibari gave a small nod in return. "Arguing with the old man again?"

Hibari knew Tsuna's secret. He found out soon after hey met. While everyone outcasted Tsuna for talking to himself, Hibari was the only one who took the effort to find and understand the truth ( even if it meant biting a 7 year old kid to death ).

Giotto frowned. He never liked being called old. "Hey, Tsuna. Tell him I'm not old."

"Kyoya-san. Giotto said he's not old."

"Technically, he is." Hibari retorted.

Giotto glared at the one who he dubbed Alaude's evil clone. '"What. Tsuna! Tell me, do I look old to you?"

Tsuna looked at Giotto, eyes serious and assessing every detail of Giotto's youthful face. 'Skin free of wrinkles. Not a single grey hair in sight.'

"But technically, you _are_ old, Giotto." Tsuna said in-a-matter-of-factly.

Hibari smirked at his friend's words. Pride swelled in his chest.

Giotto just whimpered.

"By the way, Tsu." Hibari whipped out his tonfas. "You are not to step into school grounds-"

"But-!"

"Go home."

"Kyoya-san-"

"You never woke up this early unless something had, is, or will happen." The prefect stood in the middle of the school gate, refusing to let the brunet enter school. "Come back when you find out what woke you up in the first place. Make sure your phone is with you."

Tsuna sighed. There was no use arguing with Hibari Kyoya, unless you want a free tonfa to the face.

"Fine, Kyoya-san…"

.

"I still can't believe he sent me home…"

Tsuna walked by the river to pass time since he had nothing to do at home.

Giotto never liked it when Tsuna skipped school, but he understood the significance of going along with the Vongola intuition and further with Tsuna's third eye.

"It can't be helped, Tsuna. Never once had Vongola intuition failed me when I was alive. You should trust your intuition too."

"I do! It's just…" Tsuna took one deep breath in and out. "For just one morning, I want to try and be a normal being human. Go to school without anything tailing you in the shadows. Go to class without anything trying to call you from the window. And…"

"And…?"

Tsuna smiled fondly at Giotto, eyes full of gentleness and serenity. "I guess I already got the last part." He stretched out his hand towards the blond ghost.

Giotto tried grabbing the hand. He really did, but the touch between them felt unreal, almost like a hologram, leaving cold trails on Tsuna's skin.

"And may I ask what the last part is?" Giotto's voice cracked. Damn.

"Having a friend to walk back home with." The smile on Tsuna's face never wavered.

But Giotto knew what Tsuna wanted.

He wanted real friends who he could touch, go out and spend time with, who would taste his cooking, who could keep him warm when they play outside in the snow.

He _needed_ real friends who would love and protect him, who would value sincerity over benefit,

who wouldn't slowly kill him.

"Giotto…"

The ghost snapped his head towards Tsuna, hands held up in defense. "Tsuna! I swear I wasn't thinking of anything depress-"

"I feel it. Today's _mission_."

.

Reborn watched his future student from one of his random hideouts. He had been observing the teen since 4 a.m.

Surprisingly, Tsuna was an early riser, being awake even before Reborn could put the flyer in the Sawada Residence's mailbox. He was lucky to have slipped the paper in when Tsuna was in the shower.

Since Tsuna was a direct descendant of Primo, by blood, he should have the famed Vongola hyper intuition in his blood.

That fact was proven correct when Tsuna looked at the mailbox the moment he stepped outside of the gate.

Reborn held in his breath as Tsuna's hand moved towards the handle of the mailbox. Reborn was _lucky_ Tsuna moved his hand away and continued his journey to school. The hitman followed him from the shadows.

The report stated Tsunayoshi often talked to himself; another fact that had been proven correct. On the way to school, Tsuna spoke to himself. Quite expressively too.

Reborn tried to listen. Unfortunately, he understood nothing.

Now, Reborn was a genius when it comes to linguistics, rumored to know more than 20 different languages. No one knew for sure. It sounded like a load of bull.

Even with that, Reborn couldn't understand a single world Tsuna said. The language sounded very odd, almost a gibberish of latin or something.

He made a mental note to kindly torture the details out of his future student.

What happened next surprised the hitman.

According to files given by CEDEF, Sawada Tsunayoshi had no friends.

 _Then how the hell did Tsuna befriended the infamous demon of Namimori?_

Hibari Kyoya was the perfect cloud candidate.

Physically strong. Unmatched reputation. Strong cloud flames, only second to Skull. Past records of disciplining people who are said to be untamable delinquents from all around. He probably was the most respected and feared person in Namimori.

Reborn looked forward to pulling the skylark into the famiglia.

"Technically, you _are_ old." said Tsuna. The proud look on Hibari's face said it all.

The cloud loved the sky.

Reborn tilted his fedora down, eyes glinted in an odd sense of pride. 'Then again, maybe Hibari Kyoya is already in the family.'

Reborn watched the interaction between the cloud candidate and the sky. Cloud insisted the sky to go home and…

"Come back when you find out what woke you up in the first place. Make sure your phone is with you." said the cloud.

'What woke him up in the first place…?'

What could that possibly mean?

With that, the brunet left the school gate, leaving his _friend_ behind.

Reborn missed the worried and pained look on Hibari's face.

.

Reborn trailed ( stalked ) Tsuna back home. Like before, Tsuna talked to himself in odd gibberish.

Listening closely to the monologue, Reborn felt as if he knew the spoken language, but a weird sort of static disrupted parts of the words out, making Tsuna sound like a possessed maniac.

They were about to turn left to the route back home when Tsuna abruptly stopped in his track. He seemed to be whispering something to the air before heading to the opposite direction to his house.

Reborn followed.

Left. Left. Right. Left. Through a bush. Right. Right.

'Does this kid even know where he's going?'

Left. Left-

 _Shit_.

Reborn lost track of the target.

How did that happen?

Reborn used all the skills and resources he had as a hitman to track down his target. It took him over 20 minutes to finally found the teen.

In an abandoned construction site full of overgrown grass and rusted metal bars, Tsuna stood in the middle of a partially cemented building foundation.

Tsuna stared blankly at the floor for a few solid minutes before taking out his phone and dialed a number.

"Kyoya-san?" Reborn heard Tsuna said. "A mission… Code 1. It's over."

Tsuna paused for a few seconds, hands clenched into fists until his knuckles turned white. "Okay… Yeah… I got the details. Thanks, Kyoya-san. See you later then."

Tsuna looked at the ground again and bowed, muttering a soft 'I'm sorry' before fleeing the area.

Reborn was torn between investigating the area or chasing after his student.

In the end, Reborn chose to follow Tsuna, leaving his bugs to investigate the construction site.

.

"I'm home." Tsuna announced to empty air of his house. Silence greeted the brunet.

Nana usually went out to buy groceries in the morning and meet with friends in the afternoon.

Tsuna closed the door behind him with his foot and took off his shoes. He didn't bother arranging his shoes neatly like his mother or Kyoya did. Shoes and petty stuff alike aren't worth the effort.

The brunet went upstairs to his room to catch on some sleep he missed for the past few months.

"Tsuna. Someone is at the door… Someone _alive_." Giotto whispered as he put his guard up, sharp eyes glancing at every corner around.

The brunet groaned. Every time he wanted to sleep, something happens.

He closed his eyes to feel the flame of the newcomer outside. He didn't recognize the flicker of yellow in the stranger's heartbeat. "It's not mom's flame. Can I just ignore the stranger?"

"What if it's someone in need?" Giotto argued. "Just because you gave yourself a duty to serve the dead doesn't mean you should disregard the living."

"I'm _not_ 'disregarding the living'. I'm just-... Fine, fine! Stop looking at me like that!"

Tsuna had a feeling trouble awaits.

Shit. He really didn't want to open that damn door.

With a heavy heart, Tsuna went downstairs and to the main entrance, hand hovering centimeters away from the silver doorknob.

"Hey, Giotto. Why do you want me to open the door so much?"

"A gut feeling. Something's telling me this person will be of great importance to you."

"Well, my gut feeling is telling me to leave the person because this person is bad news."

"Trust me in this, Tsuna."

"Don't I always?"

Tsuna opened the door to find a suit-wearing infant with a raised fist.

For a moment, Tsuna forgot to do a situation check, completely letting his guard own at the sight of a young child. "Hello. Were you about to knock?"

Yes. Yes he was.

Reborn shook his head and gave the teen his best smile, hoping to portray himself as a harmless and innocent infant. He couldn't wait to snap a picture of his victim's reaction when he shows his true colors, preferably with gunshots and explosions, or maybe a Leon-mallet since Leon had been a little jumpy recently.

"Ciaossu. My name is Reborn. From today onwards, I am your home-tutor."

.

.

.

 _What._

Giotto held ( or at least he tried to appear as so ) on to Tsuna's shoulder. The temperature around suddenly dropped several degrees down.

"Tsuna… This person is an arcobaleno."

"Ar-"

Tsuna dropped down to his knees and began coughing violently. His vision blurred a bit. He could feel his consciousness slowly slipping away.

Giotto looked away when his eyes met Tsuna's. He really hated hurting the boy, even if it was for his own good. "I'm sorry for doing that to you, Tsunayoshi. If a civilian like you were to suddenly know about arcobaleno or the mafia, they might take you away for questioning, or worse. Until we see if this person is trustable, it's best if we lay low for the time being."

Tsuna nodded. He wouldn't argue with Giotto's reasoning, especially when his intuition sang in agreement.

"Reborn, is it?" Tsuna struggled to tug away the icy feeling in his chest. "I'm sorry, but we're not expecting a home tutor."

Reborn raised a brow. Why didn't he question an infant claiming to be some random home tutors? It was hard enough to ignore his student's obvious… chest pain? Seizure?

"You should." Reborn handed Tsuna a colored flyer. "Sawada Nana gave a call this morning. I am here to tutor one Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna accepted the flyer and gave it quick scan.

'Raise your kids to be the next generation leader… Grades and- THIS SOUNDS LIKE A SCAM.' Tsuna and Giotto mentally screamed at the same time as they winced at the odd synch of screams in their heads.

Tsuna looked at the infant in the eye one more time, waiting for alarm bells in his head to go off, but they didn't.

"He's telling the truth." Giotto commented. "But he's hiding something."

"I don't want to deal with this now…" Tsuna looked at Giotto with pleading eyes. "I'm going to stay over at Kyoya-san's house today."

"Are you alright, Tsuna?"

"No, I'm not." Tsuna held his throbbing head with one hand, hoping that the sharp pain would disappear soon. Damn. Giotto's attacks really hurt…

"What about him?" Giotto asked while pointing a finger at the infant.

"He can stay here and wait for mom if he wants to."

To Reborn, it was like watching a possessed person whispering weird incantations during an exorcism. Not a single word made sense.

He began to worry for the wellbeing of his student.

"I'm leaving." Tsuna announced to no one in particular.

"Where do you think you're going, Dame-Tsuna."

Great. Another person to call him by that embarrassing nickname.

"Look, Reborn… You obviously want something from me. But whatever it is, can it wait till tonight?"

Reborn raised a brow. "What could be more important than your future?"

"Closure."

The orange on Tsuna's eyes glowed brighter. Tsuna, being fast enough, was able to hide his eyes under brown bangs. The teen awkwardly coughed and looked anywhere but the infant.

"Uh… If you want to wait inside… uh…"

"You don't usually talk to people, do you? They should add 'extremely socially awkward' to your file."

"T-That's so mean- Wait. What do you mean 'file'?"

A bullet grazed Tsuna's cheek. A thin line of blood dripped down from the shallow wound. The unfortunate brunet stumbled backwards and landed on his butt.

"HIIEEEE!"

Reborn tilted his fedora down, shadowing his eyes. "Go. Just this once, I'm giving you one day."

From the corner of his eyes, Tsuna saw something green morphed in Reborn's hand.

"I swear he was holding a gun just now." Giotto stood protectively in front of Tsuna, eyes narrowed dangerously at Reborn. "Go find Kyoya and make sure you're not followed. I'll explain everything to you later."

"E-Explain what…?" Panic evident in those glowing orange eyes.

Reborn clicked his tongue. He really wished Tsuna would talk normally instead of all the gibberish.

"Just go!" Giotto yelled.

"HIIEEEEEE!"

Reborn was caught off guard by the second embarrassing scream. Tsuna seized the chance to escape, dashing out of the Sawada residence in a flash.

Leaving a stranger in his house was a bad idea, but Tsuna trusted Giotto. He wasn't sure what the ghost planned to do, but if Giotto said run, then he'll run.

.

The Decimo candidate disappeared right before the hitman's eyes. Reborn had to admit, the kid could run.

He was about to chase after his student when the door suddenly slammed in his face. Blinking, Reborn tried opening the door with Leon's help, but the doorknob didn't budge.

The hitman sighed. In his line of work, he learned millions of ways to escape a confinement. A normal japanese house would be a piece of cake.

He might as well investigate the house, especially the room of Sawada Tsunayoshi. Who knows what secrets lay hidden in the brunet's private quarters.

'Now let's see what you're hiding, Dame-Tsuna.'

.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was an oddball.

Like most teenage boys, his room was quite a mess. But rather than crusty tissues or empty snack packets, the floor was littered with shredded papers.

Reborn felt uneasy. Upon closer inspection, the papers seemed to be ripped apart by claws. Very _sharp_ claws. The smell of smoke lingered in the air. The texts on the papers appeared smudged by ash. It was impossible to salvage information from any of those papers.

'Odd. Very odd.'

Remembering the brunet's behavior of the time they met, something felt off.

Who was he talking to? By the way Tsuna's eyes moved, it made more sense if he was talking to another person than himself.

Maybe he had some sort of communicating device on him?

Sensing something wrong, Reborn decided to give Nono a call to outline his first status report, but was cut short when he heard the front door opened.

"Tsu-kun~ I forgot something~ And why did you leave the door open again?"

 _'What fucking great timing.'_

.

Reborn had to bullshit a story to explain his intrusion in the Sawada residence; something about 'Dame-Tsuna let him in the house but had to go to school so he let the tutor wait inside the house because making people wait outside is rude'. Thank goodness Nana was an airhead.

"I'm happy you've met my Tsu-kun~ It's a shame he had to leave so early." The mother, known as Sawada Nana pouted. "He always leave too early in the morning and doesn't come home until past midnight. Sometimes, he doesn't come home at all."

Well… That was new.

"Does he has any problem at home?" asked Reborn.

"Hmm… Not that I'm aware of." Nana closed her eyes, trying to remember anything that might've upset Tsuna when he was in the house. "Definitely nothing."

"Then why doesn't he come home?"

"Tsuna likes to spend his time alone. It helps him communicate better. He doesn't show it, but he's really worried about his friends."

'Friends? As in, more than one?' thought Reborn. Looks like he had more to investigate about his student.

"And Tsu-kun is basically married to Kyoya-kun. Of course they have to stay together a lot." continued the oblivious woman.

Reborn almost choked on the expresso he was sipping. Almost.

"I didn't know Dame-Tsuna swings that way."

Nana giggled. Images of Tsuna in a wedding dress flashed in her mind, casually making a mental note to tease her son's feminine figure when he comes back home.

"Tsu-kun doesn't have any preferences, but him and Kyoya-kun are definitely married. Anyone who pays attention can tell. You'll understand one day~"

Reborn forced a smile at Nana's declaration. He felt a little bad for his dame student.

"Tsu-kun sees the world differently than us, Reborn-kun. A lot of things will make sense if he trusts you enough." Nana straightened her blouse and grabbed a basket. "I have to go shopping now. Why don't you come with me? Waiting alone in this house must be lonely, ne?"

 _'Oh? Speaking from experience?'_

"Sure." Reborn hopped on Nana's head, making himself comfortable on silky brown hair. He put up the most innocent face he could muster. "While we're heading to the market, tell me more about Tsuna."

.

Tsuna stared at the half-moon in the sky, silently comparing it to slices of pizza.

"You sure like to stare at random objects, Tsuna."

Tsuna turned around to face the owner of the voice. Seeing the ghost, he instantly smiled.

"I was just thinking, it's been a while since the last time we had pizza. You love that stuff, ne?"

Giotto smiled. Although he could no longer eat, seeing his descendant enjoy something he once loved made him feel all fluttery inside.

Plus, nobody could resist the power of pizza.

"You're so easy to read sometimes, Giotto…"

Giotto looked away, purposely ( and with much fail ) trying to avoid eye contact.

"Whatever do you mean by that, my dear Tsunayoshi?"

"Something about the power of pizza."

"A-Are you sure you can't read my mind. I'm not surprised if you can since we're connected and all."

"Tsu. Old man."

Tsuna and Giotto turned to look at Kyoya who was standing on flawless _engawa_ of the Hibari residence. The prefect had his arms crossed as he watched the moon.

"Are you two comparing the moon to pizza?" asked Kyoya.

Tsuna felt himself shrinking in embarrassment. "Y-You heard?"

"Only your part. I can't see or hear ghosts like you can."

"T-Thats…"

"Tomorrow."

Tsuna blinked once. Twice.

"Huh…?"

"Tomorrow. We can stop by for pizza."

Kyoya was just too nice sometimes. Tsuna wondered why everyone disliked the prefect.

"But you hate crowding…"

"Once in a while is fine. Think of it as a reward for today's mission."

Giotto had to hide the smile behind his mantle. Even after all the trouble they caused the skylark, Kyoya never pushed them away.

Kyoya gave Tsuna a place to stay in his house when the tiny brunet was too tired to head home. Kyoya would feed Tsuna with all kinds of delicacy, and sometimes on the smaller boy's whim. Kyoya would do a lot of things for Tsunayoshi.

Kyoya didn't even get mad when Giotto trashed Tsuna's room to hide records of their _missions_ together. Good thing he had his own copy of the records kept in his house.

Bloodthirsty as Kyoya could be, Giotto saw the same kindness found in Alaude's eyes. ( though said kindness is only limited to Sawada Tsunayoshi and Sawada Nana )

To add to that, Kyoya could fight, cook, manage a network of delinquents.

'Hibari Kyoya is indeed husband-material…' Giotto nodded in approval. He didn't mind putting Tsuna in Kyoya's hands.

"Come inside and sleep, Tsu. You've dealt with enough dangers for today. I can see you're still in shock with what the old man told us today." Kyoya stretched and went inside to sleep.

Tsuna couldn't hide anything from Kyoya. He should've known Kyoya would know what bothered him.

"Thank you, Kyoya-san."

'And sorry for being a burden.'

.

Tsuna never came back home that night. Nana didn't fuss or worry about her son's wayward behavior.

It was later that midnight did Reborn received the news about a murder at the abandoned construction site. A girl no older than 5 was beaten and had her throat slit before being cemented into a hole to hide the evidence. Reborn's spies confirmed the spot as the one Tsuna stared at hours ago.

 **To Be Continued...**

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **~ This is actually an idea for a Hetalia one-shot. Unfortunately, I don't have the Hetalia spark anymore. I still love it, and grateful for it since it pulled me into loving History in the first place. ( y'all should see the amount of history books I have holy shit )**

 **Since the idea is no longer do-able for Hetalia, I shifted it to my latest muse - KHR. And quite honestly, I didn't think things through when I decided to make this a multi-chap fic. So now I'm lost.**

 **( Edit ) After giving it much thought, I had an ending in mind. If this goes according to plan, the story will end at the Ring Conflict Arc.**

 **~ Feel free to throw in suggestions for future plot. Who knows. I might get some inspiration to write a better plot. Right now, I'm just winging it.**

 **~ I'm sorry for grammar. I cannot grammar. English is my third language.**

 **04062016**


	3. On hold

**Important reminder!**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 _ **'distant voice?'**_

* * *

 **Title : Look Through Orange Eyes**

 **Chapter 3 : On hold**

Tsuna woke up feeling a little more refreshed than usual. It had been months since his last 4+ hours sleep, though it didn't help the numbness in his body.

Numbness was still better than aches and sores, so he didn't complain.

"Mmn… Kyoya-san? What time is it?" Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he turned to his side to face his Kyoya-san, only to find the other side of the bed empty.

For a moment, his heart stopped beating, blood turning cold in his veins.

Giotto popped out of nowhere, floating in the air in all his boss-with-a-cool-black-mantle glory as usual. Tsuna once asked him to take it off, but Giotto refused, saying how the mantle made him feel fancy and powerful.

" _Buon giorno_ , Tsuna. If you're looking for Kyoya, he already left 2 hours ago."

"He WHAT."

The ghost pointed outside. Light of dawn peeked into the room through the two slightly opened sliding door. Kyoya loved the traditional Japanese-style homes, and Tsuna learned to appreciate the touch.

"It's 6 in the morning. He has a committee to run and people to bite." Giotto said with a strained smile.

At first, the ghost protested Kyoya's violent tendencies of 'biting people to death' ( mercilessly beating up people's ass for minor faults until victim is unconscious ), but reluctantly accepted the aggressive side of the skylark throughout years of knowing each other. He would like to believe Kyoya was doing it to keep peace and to discipline society. Unfortunately, Kyoya really liked making it difficult for Giotto by going against Giotto's ideal image of him, specifically by biting people simply for crowding too much. 'He's a good kid', Giotto convinced himself, or at least tried to.

"So, Tsuna," continued Giotto. "Off to school, visit mama, or mission hunting?"

Tsuna just smiled.

Oh, Giotto kew that look. A sulking Tsuna is never a good Tsuna.

'I wonder what he'll do to Kyoya this time…'

Giotto hoped it won't be a silent treatment like last time.

That incident drove the shippers mad, specifically Nami-chuu's disciplinary committee.

.

"I still can't believe Kyoya-san let me sleep in this morning…" Tsuna pouted. Kyoya usually brought him along to school if they had a sleepover together, be it at the skylark's or the fluffy brunet's house. "He _ditched_ me."

Giotto floated beside the sulking teen. Nothing he said would calm the other down. "Ahaha… I wouldn't call it _that_ … God knows you need the sleep."

Heading towards Nami-chuu, Tsuna sighed for the fourth time that morning. It wasn't like he hated being ditched behind. It was the 'out-of-place' feeling that bothered him.

He got used to Kyoya sleeping at the other end of his bed and waking up beside the same person. They even talked about it ever since they became extremely close.

Falling asleep together but waking up without the other beside them could only mean one thing…

Tsuna shook his head. Thinking about _it_ now would do no one any good. Grief should only be shown when the time comes.

"Tsuna?"

"Hmm?"

"You're awfully quiet today."

"This morning scares me." Tsuna stopped walking and looked at Giotto with unspoken weariness in his eyes. "Adding up what you told us yesterday about the mafia finally coming to claim my life, today isn't one I can look forward to."

Once again, Giotto felt guilt eating his soul. It was _his_ fault Tsuna got involved.

He knew about Tsuna's mafia heritage. How could he not? He was the founder of history's strongest mafia famiglia.

Giotto even told the brunet everything about Vongola's history way before Nono's visit to the Sawada residence. He refused to keep Tsuna in the dark, not after the boy let him reside in the 3 year old's body without asking anything in return.

Sure, Giotto was prepared to see his dear descendant's hands stained by blood, but he never expected the mafia to be the one pulling the innocent civilian into a fate of red, much less to find a candidate for a throne. Why else would they send an arcobaleno to be the 'tutor' of someone who never stepped foot in bloody water?

"Tsuna… I…"

"Yes?"

"Everything is my fault. I'm s- WAAAAH-!"

"Eh?!" Tsuna almost couldn't believe his eyes when Giotto jumped back like a puffed up cat. God, Tsuna wished he could record the ghost's almost-girly scream and share it to Kyoya. "Giotto? Why-"

"Ciaossu."

"-HIIEEE!"

Giotto glared at the intruder casually sitting on Tsuna's brown hair. He didn't even realize the arcobaleno was there in the first place. Giotto wanted to scream for tending more to his emotions rather than his intuition. He should've noticed sooner. Stupid, _stupid_ Giotto.

"S-Since when are you here, Reborn?" Tsuna tried shaking the infant off, but the little guy remained perfectly balanced while drinking a mug of coffee? Where did that came from?

"A few seconds ago. We have a lot to talk about, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna gulped. He didn't like the vibe coming from Reborn. It stroke as an intention twisted and…-

"You're a weird one, Reborn." Tsuna thoughts slipped out. He slapped a hand over his careless mouth.

"Oh? In what way am I weird?" Reborn raised a brow, challenging his student with an unblinking gaze. "As far as I can tell, I'm not the one who talk gibberish to myself."

Tsuna tilted his head slightly to the side. He seemed genuinely confused. "Gibberish?" He looked at Giotto for answers. "I talk gibberish?"

"Aren't you talking in Japanese? And you never use your Italian unless you're reading." Giotto said.

Giotto was right. Tsuna spoke in perfect Japanese. There was no way he could be talking gibberish. He would sound incredibly stupid.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken, Reborn?"

Reborn hopped off the brunet's head and landed perfectly on a fence wall. With a blank face, his eyes searched Tsuna as if trying to contemplate the teen's existence. Tsuna fidgeted under the intense glare.

"How cute!" said a feminine voice. Tsuna vaguely remembered the voice as Namimori's number 1 female idol. "Why are you wearing a suit?"

The sight of the angel, Sasagawa Kyoko cooing over one of the strongest seven in the world seemed a bit too comical, if not innocent.

But Tsuna knew better. Giotto told him everything about I Prescelti Sette. The yellow pacifier around Reborn's neck proved his status as an arcobaleno.

He absolutely refused to leave Kyoko alone with someone so dangerous, so he stayed no matter how much he wanted to leave and meet up with Kyoya.

Warning bells in him screeched. They _screeched_. Tsuna clutched the sides of his head to dull the sudden pain, eyes closed in loose concentration. Blurry images flashed through his mind.

"Because I'm in the mafia." Reborn casually replied as he stole a peek at his student, expecting a reaction. Tsuna didn't seem to heard what he just said as he was too busy blocking off what appeared to be a headache.

Very nice timing.

Reborn needed someone to do a check-up on the Decimo candidate. 14 year old boys don't just get random headaches. According to Nana ( who Reborn decided to call 'Maman' ), Tsuna often got sick when he was younger, though he tolerated it better as he grew older. Headaches and nausea were normal occurrences.

"I have to go now." Kyoko waved Reborn a quick goodbye. "Bye-bye."

Reborn waved back. "Ciao ciao."

Kyoko walked away, leaving the two males alone.

Tsuna sighed for the fifth time. The random role of images finally disappearing from his mind. When he opened his eyes, Kyoko was nowhere in sight.

"Reborn? Where's Kyoko?"

"The girl left when you're not looking."

"O-Oh…"

"What's wrong, Dame-Tsuna?"

"It's just…" Tsuna gripped his schoolbag as he repositioned his glasses. "I want to walk to school with her…"

'Because Giotto really wanted another living human around who doesn't wield tonfas and/or reek of murder.' Tsuna's face flushed at the thought of Giotto wagging like an overexcited puppy whenever someone other than Nana or Kyoya talked to the brunet. 'Seriously, Giotto can be so embarrassing at times.'

Reborn saw the obvious blush on Tsuna's face. A knowing smirk curled under the shadows of his fedora, hiding the mischievous glint in his onyx eyes.

"So you like her." Reborn mused, pointing a Leon-gun loaded with a very special bullet at his student.

Ignoring the green looking thing in Reborn's hand, Tsuna sighed _again_. "Well… _Everyone_ likes her. Sasagawa Kyoko _is_ the school idol."

"You should confess."

Before Reborn could shoot, Tsuna asked something that made the hitman die a little inside.

"Confess?" Again, Tsuna's face shown genuine confusion. "Confess what?"

"Tch… While at it, they should add 'embarrassingly dense' to the list…" Reborn let Leon transform back into his normal form. "What I'm saying is, you 'like' her."

"Like?"

"Something akin to love."

The light in Tsuna's eyes dimmed. He never really thought much of his own human emotions. He never had the need to feel them. As long as he could put the dead to rest, 'living' as a human meant nothing to him.

"Love, huh…" Tsuna lost himself in deep thought, searching in his heart for a familiar face. "If I have to name one…"

Shit. Reborn was sure Tsuna had a crush on Kyoko. Every reaction from the teen suggested so.

"You loved someone else." Reborn said in a voice softer than he intended. He didn't even bother to use the 'like'. The look in Tsuna's eyes… Tsuna really loved that person. 'Possibly Kyoya.'

Tsuna gave the hitman a sad smile. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

Seeing the broken smile, Reborn tensed. No one at Tsuna's age could carry a tragic smile so naturally.

"But the person I love had been dead for quite a while now."

Reborn felt his heart drop. He barely knew the kid, yet he felt so much pity and empathy for the lad.

But he was the world's number one hitman with a mission to train the next Vongola Decimo. He wouldn't let anything stand in his way to whip Sawada Tsunayoshi into the best boss a hitman of his caliber could offer.

If so, Reborn wondered why he hadn't told Tsunayoshi his real reason of being in Japan.

Somehow, dragging the boy into the underworld felt wrong. Very wrong.

Giotto saw the whole scene in front of him. He _refused_ to stay silent.

"Tsuna. If you say it like that, he'll misunderstand." Giotto tried to reason with his descendant. Sadly, he was ignored. 'And I think _you_ misunderstood the situation too!'

Tsuna laughed, turning to face Reborn with a warm smile. "Well, that's just my honest feelings."

"…" Giotto looked like he was betrayed. Tsuna always said the ghost was embarrassing, but Giotto believed Tsuna was the real embarrassing one.

"And as for confessing my love…" Tsuna continued.

Glowing pair of orange eyes looked straight at the floating ghost.

"Bad Tsuna. Baaaad Tsuna. Don't make things wors-"

"I'm pretty sure _that_ person knows just how much I love-"

" _Mio dio_! Not. Another. Word!"

Just to be safe, Giotto glanced at Reborn for any response. He found sadness and pity written all over the arcobaleno's face.

"HE ALRADY MISUNDERSTOOD!"

Tsuna just laughed, completely oblivious to the damage he had done.

"Tsuna! Tell him you didn't mean it, and it's all a misunderstanding!"

Poor Giotto was ignored as the brunet made his way to school. At least Reborn didn't follow them, too busy reevaluating the recent revelation.

Oh, Giotto was SO going to _talk_ to Tsuna that night.

.

Gokudera Hayato, supposedly new transfer student of Nami-chuu walked around school ground. He arrived to Japan early with basically nowhere to go. He planned to find a cheap rental apartment after finishing his deal with Reborn's Decimo candidate.

"Gokudera Hayato. You came earlier than expected." A squeaky voice said behind the bomber.

Hayato almost jumped at the voice. If an assassin were to sneak up on him, he would've been killed in a heartbeat. Whoever that person was, Hayato didn't feel their presence at all.

'You can do this, Hayato. Don't fuck up your chance.'

With a nervous smirk on his face, Hayato lowered his head. "So you must be Reborn, the ninth's most trusted hitman."

Reborn hopped up to the bombers head and sat on silver hair. "Change of plans, Gokudera Hayato."

"Huh?"

"You may test the liability of Sawada Tsunayoshi in any way you see fit, but do not tell him anything about the mafia, at least not yet."

Green eyes widened at the new command. If what Reborn said was true, then the Decimo candidate had not been informed about Vongola or the mafia. Was Reborn going against Nono's orders?

"But, Reborn-san! As heir, let alone an heir to the most powerful famiglia in the world, he needs to-"

"Listen, Smokin' Bomb Hayato." Reborn shoved the tip of a real gun into Hayato's scalp, finger ready to pull at any given second. "This Sawada Tsunayoshi is different from the files Vongola had on him. Until we know he could be given power without any intention of destroying Vongola, we'll observe him further."

Hayato stayed still. Reborn took it as an agreement.

"Good. I'll send you a copy of his files. If you find anything new, report back to me immediately."

.

There was no Kyoya standing at the school gate. Tsuna huffed in disappointment. He was dead set to show how upset he was ( mostly by mild whining and pouting which didn't really help his already herbivorous image ).

 _'Screaming. Alone. Rejected. Dejected.'_

Tsuna stopped. It felt like an omen of a long trial; one that he might not survive long enough to see the end of it. Maybe he shouldn't go to school that morning. Tsuna had a bad twitch in his chest the closer he was to school ground.

He sensed an unfamiliar storm flame nearby. The flame called out to him, begging to be found.

The calling flame… It was like the first time he met Kyoya at that cliff 6 years ago. Kyoya was about to throw his tonfas into the water at the bottom of the cliff when Tsuna stopped him. Needless to say, the brunet was bitten to death for the first time, yet he refused to leave the skylark. Things got a lot better afterwards.

Red flame spoke again, _'Where? Where can I go? Why do I keep trying when everything ends the same?'_

"Where is that voice coming from?" Giotto asked, uneasy with the foreign tug of storm flames.

Tsuna's grip on his schoolbag tightened, eyes flicked a brilliant orange. "You heard it too?"

"Yeah…"

 _'My fault. My fault. Everything is my fault.'_

Tsuna felt sick, bile rising in his throat. He almost threw up on the spot. The nausea was too intense.

"Giotto… I think I'm going home…"

"Tsuna…" Giotto couldn't do anything but watch as Tsuna struggled to stand up. "What about the school infirmary?"

"No. Not there. Anywhere is fine, just not the school."

"I understand. Please let Kyoya know."

"Alright…"

Just when Tsuna turned around to go home, he accidentally bumped into Kyoko. The girl fell on her side, skin on her elbow scraped with grit and dust. Small spots of blood seeped from the wound.

Tsuna offered a hand to help her up, but he was roughly shoved to the side by a raging student. He failed to recall the name of that student, hearing it mentioned by a few of his classmates before. Guy must've been popular?

Damn, he needed to attend school more.

Rather than worrying about the intense leer, Tsuna was more interested in knowing how he arrived at school first. He was sure Kyoko went ahead of him that morning.

"Look what you have done to Kyoko-chan!" roared the unnamed guy as he grabbed Kyoko's wrist, forcing her to stand. Tsuna's fingers twitched when Kyoko flinched in pain.

Tsuna didn't want to deal with a fight now. The dizziness made it worse.

"It was an accident, Mochida-senpai." Kyoko insisted, graceful smile plastered on her face. "I'm fine!"

"You're not fine until dame-Tsuna apologize!"

Mochida lifted Tsuna by the collar, hateful eyes glared daggers at the younger boy.

Tsuna breath stilled when he saw the black swirling in Mochida's eyes.

"What are you waiting for, dame-Tsuna? Kiss the floor and apologize!"

It didn't seem like Tsuna would be apologizing anytime soon. His gaze unfocused. 'Probably daydreaming.' thought Mochida.

The kendo captain hurled Tsuna to the ground, other hand still holding tightly to Kyoko's bruising wrist.

"Since you dare lay a hand on Kyoko-chan and refused to apologize, I challenge you to a duel, dame-Tsuna! After school in the gym! First person to get one point on kendo wins." Mochida raised Kyoko's hand up in the air. All eyes were on him. "The prize, of course, is Sasagawa Kyoko!"

Kyoko frowned. She never knew the senpai she looked up to would be a chauvinistic jerk. "W-What? I'm not a prize!"

Mochida snickered at Kyoko's weak attempt to get away. He finally let go of the girl and flashed Tsuna his victory smile. A duel with someone who fails in everything would be an effortless win. The trophy was free for him to take.

Tsuna clenched his fist, frost laced around his fingers.

"What do you say, dame-Tsun-"

Before Mochida could say any more crap, Tsuna lurched forward and delivered a blurred strike.

An icy blow to the kendo captain's jaw knocked him out cold. He was thrown 2 meters back, landing harshly on the ground. Blood streaked down from a corner of his bruising lips.

Everyone gaped, unable to believe what they had witnessed.

For performing such feat, one would usually receive newfound respect or acknowledgement from people who normally shunned them away.

It wasn't the same for dame-Tsuna.

Kyoko grew afraid of the teen. She screamed and ran into the school building.

Some students tried getting close to the unconscious Mochida, but they were too afraid to be anywhere near Tsuna.

Whispers about the brunet choked the air.

"He didn't have to go that far… Mochida-senpai was only trying to protect Sasagawa-san."

"Dame-freak done it again."

"How is he still not thrown in an asylum?"

"He should just go die."

"Nobody wants him around. He'll make us all look bad."

"Do you think Mochida-senpai is okay?"

"Please. Just leave, dame-Tsuna."

"Leave."

"Leave."

"Leave."

Tsuna heard them loud and clear. He willingly left, though not before saying something eerie to mark his resolve.

" _I'll find you._ "

Those who heard him shuddered. They were glad when Tsuna was out of their field of vision. Without the brunet haunting the place with his icy presence, the air felt warmer already, much to their relief.

From the window of one of the first floor classroom, Reborn and Hayato watched the whole scene.

.

The sky painted a beautiful violet. Tsuna took off his glasses to enjoy a clearer view of the above canvas. A tiny smile graced his lips.

He loved sitting on the roof of his home. The breeze whistling through his hair felt nice.

"Ne, Giotto. Are you still upset?" Tsuna asked with closed eyes, feeling every gentle caress of the wind.

"I don't understand how you are not." Giotto sat beside the brunet. He hugged his knees and buried his face in the spectral fabric of his pants. "They said some pretty hurtful things about you. That's not even 10 percent of what they talked behind your back."

"Haha. It's fine though. They might as well avoid me than be a hindrance to my missions. Besides. Today is not a completely awful day. I get to clean a _stain_."

"Boo… Missions are all you ever think about, Tsuna. You need to _live_. Go out there!Explore the world!"

"I get to see an entirely different world everyone else can't. I'm perfectly happy with the life I'm living." Tsuna yawned and laid back on the cold tiles of the roof. "Speaking of missions, that storm flame…"

"What will you do?"

"Just this once, I'm going to save it."

Giotto's expression softened. Tsuna was too kind for his own good, always giving it his all if it meant putting the dead to rest. Alas, his kindness was biased, believing the dead needed him more than the living, thus limiting his choice of contact.

"Occasional attention for the currently breathing is acceptable once in a while." Tsuna said flatly.

"…You can at least pretend to care."

"Fortunately, I don't."

"You cared enough to kill the thing latching on that Mochida guy's soul. I saw the punch you did."

"For the record, I didn't do it for Mochida-senpai's sake."

"…You're not very cute right now, _tsun_ -Tsuna."

The rest of the day passed with a few mini missions done. All mafia related muse forgotten.

.

 **Omake! ( 1 / 3 ) :**

An hour past midnight, Tsuna was on his way to Kyoya's house. Thin mist surrounded the boy in a ghostly glow. One could easily mistaken him as a vengeful spirit out to steal their firstborn in the middle of the blind night.

"When Reborn asked me who I love, I immediately thought of you, Giotto."

"… I don't think you understand what kind of 'love' he is talking about."

"Well, isn't it love when you care about someone deeply? Hands down, you're my best friend, so obviously, I care a lot about you. Hence, I am in love with you."

"No, no, Tsunayoshi. You got it wrong. Love and _in_ love are two very different things. When two people are in love, they will be bound together by marriage."

"… But aren't the both of us already bound to each other? You've been attached to my soul before I could even read. So we're basically married."

"Tsuna. You're missing the whole point here. A marriage involves a ceremony and-"

"Then we just need to do the ceremony thing. I've seen it in TV. Two people wore white clothing. One a dress and the other a suit. I can borrow mom's wedding dress. I think it's your size."

"What."

"Let me ask mom tomorrow morning."

"If we're going to do this, I'm not going to be the one wearing the dres- WAIT. WHY ARE WE EVEN DISCUSSING THIS?"

"To show that I love you and you're my most important person? Just because I live in a world full of dead people doesn't mean I have forgetten my roots. I'm merely trying to live like regular humans do."

"Oh, God. Being around spirits messed up your understanding of how the real world works. Sawada Tsunayoshi, you need living-breathing human friends."

"Kyoya-san is a 'living-breathing human'. Should I ask him instead?"

"No! Don't. I mean- He might misunderstand. Or worse. He might _jump_ on you."

"Jump? Like an attack?"

"You know… the 'S' word…"

"'S' word? What's that?" Tsuna thought about a lot of things that starts with S... Soap? School? Science? Skooma?

"You're a teenager. You should know."

"…?"

"You see... The 'S' word is when two people love each other very much- Wait! Let me think through... I'll need to phrase this in a way you would understand without misinterpreting the basics."

Giotto didn't know how they drifted from love, to marriage, to dresses, then to the 's' word.

He really need to teach his descendant the basic rules of human society and common sense. Lots and lots of common sense.

"Sigh… Sit down, Tsuna. I am going to give you the _talk_."

Thank goodness Tsuna didn't ask for Giotto to perform the sacred act of 'S' with him, because apparently, Tsuna might or might not have understood the 'two people love each other so they fuck each other' part.

"But I love you…? And you love me too, right? So shouldn't we do it? Wait. I love Kyoya-san too. Maybe I should ask him?"

Giotto regretted ever talking to Tsuna that night.

The almighty Vongola Primo hid himself from his dear descendant the next morning.

.

 **Omake! ( 2 / 3 ) :**

It was rare for Tsuna to stay for breakfast. Nana made something extra special for the growing teen. Too bad Reborn wasn't there to join the family meal. He said he had a few things he needed to take care of that morning.

"Mom? What _exactly_ is s**?"

Nana accidentally dropped the spatula she was holding, lips twitching into a smile.

"Now, now, Tsu-kun. Where did you learn _that_?"

"Giotto."

Nana's smile twisted into a grin more sinister.

"Tsu-kun dear~ Where is our darling Giotto? Is he here now?"

"Hmm. He's been hiding since last night." Tsuna innocently nibbled the egg of his omelet rice. Mom always made the best food. "I wonder why though."

"Tsu-kun… This isn't something you can simply ask anyone."

"Then who should I ask?"

"…"

Nana was a bit regretful for letting Tsuna skip class all those years ago.

"And mom? Can I borrow your wedding dress?"

.

 **Omake! ( 3 / 3 ) :**

Kyoya was going through some papers for the DC when his phone rang. He answered it before the second line of his ringtone.

"Hibari Kyoya." said the prefect.

-"Kyoya-kun…"

"What is it, mama?"

Nana rarely calls his private phone. When she did, it meant serious business.

-"Kyoya-kun… This morning…"

"This morning…?"

-"Tsu-kun is finally learning about the 's' word."

Kyoya was torn between wanting to murder half of Namimori or feeling proud that his little herbivore is finally growing up. Though he felt that it was too soon for the fluffy brunet to learn the dark reality of the world.

Kyoya wasn't even sure if Tsuna knew what a vagina was.

"To whom do I owe my gratitude for teaching Tsu _that_ word?"

-"Giotto."

"Consider him dead-er than he already is."

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **~ What is Nami-chuu in English? Is it Namimori Middle? It sounds a bit off. *cry because what is English?* And sorry for grammar.**

 **~ Again,** _ **thank you**_ **for reading and for the lovely responses! And thank you for not demanding immediate updates. I don't know about others, but I find it very demotivating when people say 'please update' in their reviews. It's kinda like when you want to do something and people** _ **tell**_ **you to do the same thing, you suddenly lose motivation to do said thing. ( sorry for sounding so rude ;n; )**

 **~ Special thanks to mehh ( guest ). Thank you for your suggestions! I can't use some of them since I've already decided on the plot, but I'll definitely think about it!**

 **~ I wanted to write "What are you waiting for, dame-Tsuna? On your knees! Now!", but it sounded so wrong. -ifyouknowwhatimean-**

 **ANSWERS :**

 **Q : Tsuna and Kyoya knew about the mafia? A : Unfortunately, yes. Giotto refused to hide anything from them. Though both remained civilians and never got themselves involved in mafia stuff.**

 **Q : Will Tsuna be able to speak to and see the other 1st gen? A : Sadly, no. The rest had moved on. Only Giotto remained since he still has regrets he couldn't let go of.**

 **QUESTION :**

 **What do you think if Tsuna joined the Vendice?**

 **.**

 **~ Can't wait for the next chapter featuring our favorite Jyuudaime enthusiast!**


	4. Finding the storm

**Title : Look Through Orange Eyes**

 **Chapter 4 : Finding the storm**

"Mom! I'm leaving!"

"Alright, Tsu-kun~! Be safe~!"

With a piece of toast hanging between his lips, Tsuna waved Nana a quick goodbye and set off to school.

Tsuna barely slept. For the first time in years, the brunet looked forward to school. He regretted not finding the storm as soon as he felt it, but yesterday, he could barely keep his senses straight.

The beautiful voice of that flame ringed in his head over and over again. ' _My fault. My fault. Everything is my fault._ '

Tsuna wondered what truth lies behind such a remorseful cry.

Being close to the flame was painful, mentally and physically taxing, but he never felt so in-tune with a storm before. For that, he was more than willing to find this person and free them of their regret.

He can't wait to meet the storm, dead set on his mission.

"Tsuna…" called a ghostly voice behind him.

"Good morning, Giotto. I was wondering when you'll show up." Tsuna bowed his head in greeting as he practically ran to school. "Where did you go?"

"…" Giotto didn't meet the teen's eyes. He couldn't. The light frown on his face hinted disappointment and petty regret.

"… Okay…? You don't have to answer, but I need to hurry. The storm is calling."

Tsuna ran towards school. The closer he was, the stronger the pulse of storm flames burned. He almost reached the junction to school when he heard a new voice. Alarm bells in his mind warned him of a new mission.

 _"Help me…"_

Tsuna came to an abrupt stop. Intuition tugged him to go left. True enough, to his left was a normal-looking house. What could possibly be inside a normal looking home?

 _"Somebody? Anybody? Why can't no one see me…? It hurts. It hurts!"_

Giotto pressed his hand against the gate of the house. His touch left a thin layer of frost on the weary metal.

"Air of sinister is thick inside… Tsuna, go ahead and find the storm. Let me handle this."

"No way am I going to let you go in there alone."

Tsuna pushed himself through the opening between two broken bars of the gate. Whoever the occupants were, they gave no fucks for real security. The hole gap was big enough for a grown man to pass through.

He made his way to the normal and unsuspicious-looking front door. He almost knocked when he heard a loud thud from inside. He recognized the sound from anywhere…

'The sound of a fallen body.'

Tsuna kicked the front door with full force, successfully breaking it off of its hinges with his third strike. He let his intuition work their magic, leading him to the house kitchen. What he found made him see red. The all too familiar scene was one of the few things he could never stand. Predatory instincts kicked in, but self-control tamed it.

A man was pinning a teenage girl to the floor while a woman held a bloody knife. The teenager, barely breathing, had multiple stab wounds all over her chest.

Tsuna could feel the girl's soul slipping to the afterlife. The light in her eyes gone with each shallow breath.

Against better judgement, hands empty of any real weapon, Tsuna lunged forward.

.

Reborn was furious.

How the fuck did he lose sight of a target he had been watching ( stalking ) all morning?

The target a.k.a. Sawada Tsunayoshi came home from the house of Hibari Kyoya around 3 in the morning. They had been doing some sort of paperwork together. Target went home after binding the written papers into a thin book.

Target ate breakfast with the mother, Sawada Nana, preferably called Maman by Reborn. Target left for school at 6.

Then poof. Just like that. Right in front of his eyes.

'It's like I'm dealing with a ghost…'

If one were to brush aside all logic, that thought actually made sense.

With no other lead, Reborn was on his way to meet the infamous demon of Namimori.

Reborn needed answers and needed it now.

The ninth's mission can wait.

.

School started half an hour ago with Tsuna still missing in action.

Kyoya enjoyed the peace and quiet of the reception room which he long claimed as his office. Lately, things with Tsuna had become more chaotic. Kyoya barely had time for himself.

Almost every morning, Tsuna would call or drag him to one of his missions. Tsuna needed help, so Kyoya provide whatever support he could offer. Most of the time, he was there to make sure Tsuna doesn't kill himself. What else could Kyoya do? He wasn't as _gifted_ as Tsuna.

Night time wasn't any better. Those _nightmares_ took away all good dreams, replacing them with loops of trauma and torture from another stranger's memory.

Together, they shared a deep dark secret. Their secret permanently buried by blood and fire, thus warranted their partnership.

 _A bond forged in hell._

But Kyoya wouldn't have it any other way. Horrendous as the experience was, it had been _fun_.

Soundless, an infant in a black suit stood on the office's window sill, inky eyes pierced straight into grey. Kyoya didn't know when or how the baby got into his territory without detection.

Reborn tipped his fedora to the side as a short greeting. "Hibari Kyoya."

"Reborn." Kyoya nodded. He acknowledged the visitor. One glance was enough to tell how powerful the infant was.

"So you know who I am."

"Sawada Tsunayoshi told me about a home tutor. His descriptions are horrifyingly accurate." Kyoya had his guard up, hands tucked under his black jacket in case things get out of control. Giotto had warned him and Tsuna about the mafia and their ways.

Reborn sensed a fight. The bloodlust in the skylark's eyes was real. Reborn briefly wondered how a teenage civilian could harbor a killing intent rivaling that of a betrayed loyalist. "I'll jump straight to the point. What do you know about Tsunayoshi?"

"Demanding information without giving something of equal in return is unfair."

"Fine. For every piece of information you answered, I'll answer one of yours."

Kyoya nodded in agreement. Talking seemed to drain a lot of his energy recently.

The hitman started. "Is Sawada Tsunayoshi involved in any underground syndicates?"

"No. Are _you_ a part of such syndicate?"

"Mafia. What connection do you have with Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"Sort-of-partners for 6 years. What does the mafia want with him?"

Kyoya was good, Reborn admitted. The skylark knew priority and exactly which question to ask, giving out information no more than necessary. Uncanny looks aside, Kyoya's traits were similar to Primo's first cloud guardian.

The sadistic tutor smirked. He didn't want anyone else taking the position of Vongola cloud other than the demon prefect. 'CEDEF's list of cloud candidates and everything else given by that stupid Iemitsu can go down the toilet.'

"You're good, I'll give you that." Reborn jumped from the window and landed on the prefect's desk. Kyoya was still on high alert, so one false move could end their peaceful game of 20 Questions. "Sawada Tsunayoshi is to be the tenth boss of Vongola famiglia, the strongest mafia family in the world. I am here to shape him into the ideal boss a family of such power needs. Methods are all up to me."

"Hn."

"My turn. What is he hiding?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." Kyoya repeated, Steel eyes shown no hint of lie.

Reborn clicked his tongue. He had so many questions to ask, but the main one remained unanswered. Worse since Kyoya was telling the _truth_.

Tsunayoshi really wasn't hiding anything.

That, or Kyoya was a fanatstic liar.

Impossible.

"Hn. It's not like he's hiding anything in particular. If you have so many question about him, why not ask him directly?"

"I would if he doesn't randomly disappear like a ghost."

"Heh."

Kyoya's laugh caught the hitman off guard. According to the ( proven useless or wrong many times ) intel given to him, Hibari Kyoya was a ruthless, merciless person who can't smile or laugh. The cold, indifferent prefect cared for nothing but the peace and order of Namimori, ruling the town with an iron fist of pure terror.

At that very second, none of those information matched the smiling skylark in front of him.

"Infant, you have _no_ idea."

.

The door to class 1-A slid open with a loud bang. All eyes snapped to the person who dared disturb their class session.

They leered at the always-latecomer. Said student was panting and clutching his side. Spots of blood stained his uniform.

Like every other mornings, whispers of disgust were spat carelessly around.

"Look who decides to show up…"

"You heard the thing about Mochida-senpai yesterday?"

"Dame-Tsuna is in another fight. _Again_."

"Yeah. Ruining the school reputation and dropping the class average with his dame grades."

"Why won't he just leave?"

"Hurry up and come up with another lie and leave. They'll take whatever pathetic excuse you give because you're Hibari-san's fuck toy."

"Leave."

"Leave."

"Alright, alright. That's enough, everyone." Mikami-sensei tapped the blackboard with a long ruler, demanding the class' attention. "Sawada, if you'll join us, please take your seat. And you missed our new addition yesterday. I'm sure you can tell which is Gokudera Hayato-kun."

Mikami-sensei, class 1-A's homeroom teacher was one of the few who believed Tsunayoshi wasn't as bad as the rumor made him to be ( not that she cared in the first place ), but the rest of her students believed otherwise.

Even the ever-so-kind Kyoko looked away, too afraid to meet Tsuna's eyes.

Gokudera Hayato fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. He never cared much for other people's insults, much less when those insults were directed towards someone other than himself, but the way the class treated Tsuna made him feel uneasy inside, as if a curse would be set upon them.

Good thing he brought salt.

Tsuna, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the ill whispers about him. His gaze automatically locked on the silver-haired stranger sitting in the usually empty seat up front, sending chills all over the stranger's body.

Then Tsuna found it. The storm who cried for help.

Ignoring everything else, the bloody teen walked up to Hayato. All the way, his eyes preyed on quivering green. Unblinking. Cold. _Hypnotizing_.

Tsuna gently set his palms on Hayato's desk. Hayato swore the temperature around him dropped.

The way orange eyes stared at him froze every coherent thoughts in his mind, replacing it all with many scenarios of his own possible death. It was like Satan stared deep into the core of his soul. Shit. His life force could leave his body at any given second.

 _Fear._

Hayato felt genuine _fear_.

Tsuna smiled, but behind it hid another motive.

"This exact spot, after school, I'll be here when everyone else is gone, Gokudera-kun."

Hayato only nodded. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move his body.

Tsuna smiled one last time before leaving the room without another word.

.

"I'm coming in." Tsuna said as he entered the reception room. He smiled at the prefect leaning against the window. "Good morning, Kyoya-san."

He had a habit of not knocking and mindlessly enter whenever he pleases. Kyoya found this a little inappropriate, but the brunet had such a hard time understanding even the simplest of things. Teaching Tsuna basic etiquettes was a pain if not impossible.

Kyoya felt bad for Giotto. The old man had to deal with Tsuna's weird perception and interpretation of… well… everything.

The prefect wondered if Tsuna even have basic male teenager thoughts. 'Video games? Food? Girls? Anything?'

Of course, he wouldn't risk asking the brunet anything in fear of raising any misunderstandings, which most likely will happen. Nope. Not after what had happened.

"You just missed the infant."

"Oh. I almost forgot about him."

"Tsu… He's here to claim you to be a mafia boss. You _should_ care."

"Ah. But I don't. He'll just have to live with it."

Kyoya sighed. "So, Mind explaining the blood?"

"Stabbed."

"…"

"I got it stitched. So I guess it's fine?" Tsuna shrugged. Body injuries were the least of his problems. "I brought a live victim to the hospital. It's another case of child abuse."

"Tch. I will bite those useless parents to death."

"Haha. Don't worry, Kyoya-san. I asked Squad 3 to kindly drop them off somewhere far away. I hope the _package_ won't be naked like last time."

"If it were up to me, I would straight up annihilate them from Namimori…" Kyoya muttered softly enough for Tsuna to miss his words.

Kyoya walked up to Tsuna and pulled him towards the sofa, pushing the brunet down on comfortable cushions. Strong hands ripped off the blood stained uniform.

Tsuna didn't push away. He trusted the other in whatever decision comes to mind.

"If your wounds don't kill you, I gladly will." Kyoya breathed out as he took off his black jacket and put it over Tsuna's body.

"Ne, Kyouya-san… I finally found the storm and I need your help later on if you're not busy."

"Fine."

"Thank you."

Tsuna snuggled closer to the given jacket, taking in the smell he grew so familiar with. The jacket felt warm against his scarred skin.

"Your scent is strong, Kyoya-san."

"Oh? What do I smell like?"

"Blood."

"So do you." Kyoya jabbed his tonfa to Tsuna's side, ignoring the brunet's strangled yelp. "And don't sniff other people's clothes. It's weird."

.

"Stop fidgeting so much."

"Forgive me, Reborn-san, but I can't help it." Hayato ran his fingers through silver hair, lips twitching for a cigarette. "It feels like I've signed my death sentence the moment our eyes met."

"We still don't know what we're dealing with, so you best be on your guard. Give it your all, but don't kill him."

"Yeah… I know…"

The bomber knew Reborn was only using him as a tool to evaluate Sawada Tsunayoshi. It was all everybody needed him to be. Nobody wanted him, so might was well let the wind carry him.

He knew the whole 'kill him and you can be Decimo' was a lie. Hayato did his homework years ago. Only those from the original Bloodline could inherit the throne of Vongola.

Hayato was beginning to regret ever accepting the offer to go up against the Decimo candidate. He should've bail out when he still had the chance. With the world's number 1 hitman locking aim at his back, he had to fulfill his word to fight the candidate. In the mafia, once you gave your word, you either finish the job or die trying.

"Reborn-san, if it's okay for me to ask, are you going to tell him about his bloodline after my test?"

"It depends on the result and depends on what you say to him." Reborn glanced at the door. He heard footsteps coming towards them. "He's here."

Tsuna slid open the classroom door. Behind him was Hibari Kyoya.

"Ciaossu, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn greeted.

Tsuna bowed. "Reborn. Gokudera-kun."

"So you brought Hibari with you."

"I need his… assistance. Don't worry. He won't hurt anyone. Ne, Kyoya-san?"

"Hn."

Reborn glanced at Hayato, eyes signaling him to start the battle. Kyoya being a battle maniac sensed the hitman's intention. As promised, he won't interfere with Tsuna's _mission_.

"Tsu. Don't destroy anything or I'll bite you to death." Kyoya warned.

"O-Of course…" Tsuna smiled sheepishly. His smile disappeared when he turned to face Hayato, eyes dead serious. "Now, Gokudera-kun. Time for our business. I hope you won't run away."

"Che! As if I would run away from a brat!"

Hayato lit a cigarette in one flash and pulled out 8 sticks of dynamites from who-knows-where. Tsuna thought Kyoya was the only one who had dimensional pockets under his clothes.

Tsuna wanted to believe those were just toys in Hayato's hand. The smell of gunpowder and sawdust killed his hope.

Shit. Tsuna had no time or patience to deal with unnecessary engagements.

'This is going to be a long mission...'

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **~ Thank you for answering my question from the previous chapter! It helped a lot!**

 **~ Special thanks to** _ **Sah**_ **( guest ). Because of you, my insecurities for this fic are mostly gone. I should remember I started write this fic for myself and my love for KHR, not to impress people.**

 **~ Thank you** _ **Snowyh2o**_ **( guest ) for pointing some things out! -*sweats nervously* I'll try to correct the errors I made, especially the grammars! But with my limited understanding of English, I can't do a decent job. Though I'll try my best! -About the wills, I can't say much without spoiling this fic. But rest assured, I know what I'm doing! ( I think… Oh god… I hope I know what I'm doing ) -I don't think I'll go any further than the Ring Conflict Arc. Sorry, Daemon. I don't think I have enough brain juice for you.**

 **ANSWERS :**

 **Q : Is Giotto hiding Tsuna from Daemon? A : No. Giotto isn't hiding Tsuna from Daemon. Giotto doesn't even know Daemon is still out there. It would make sense if Giotto didn't keep in touch with Daemon after Secondo took over since Giotto retired to Japan and Daemon became Secondo's mist, so the melon remained in Italy. I don't believe Daemon is 'too' all-knowing. After all, he didn't realize Giotto knew about his betrayal. Daemon is a fantastic illusionist, overpowering even Mukuro when it comes to possession, but he can't see ghosts. The manga never hinted Daemon having such abilities. [ QAQ Sadly, I don't have the intention of developing any plot past the ring conflict. Also, I didn't watch the anime. I only read the manga ( AND FEKKIN FELL IN LOVE WITH IT PLEASE SEND HELP ), so I'll follow the elements of the manga instead. ] I don't classify Daemon as a ghost… Well, I have a reason for that, and I'll tell you guys the reason if I'm ready. For now, just say that it's a gut feeling.**

 **Q : Are you going to put Tsuna in the Vindice? A : Maybe…? *sweats nervously again* But don't expect anything grand! The responses from previous chapter made me really nervous because you guys had quite an image of Tsuna joining Vendice.**


	5. Found you

**Title : Look Through Orange Eyes**

 **Chapter 5 : Found you**

Reborn noted the sudden drop in temperature of the room. It felt similar to a professional assassin leaking killer intent, just without the actual intent…? He wondered why a civilian like Tsuna would harbor any intense feelings. Did the heir figured out who Hayato was and wanted to kill the bomber first? Was Tsuna some sort of thug who actually knows how to fight? Kyoya let out no emotion. It was like he was used to seeing Tsuna in such state.

The prefect picked Reborn up and sat him on his shoulder before moving to the edge of the classroom, partly to stop the infant from interfering.

Hayato lit the dynamites with the ignited end of his cigarette, throwing them all towards Tsuna.

Reborn expected Tsuna to run away or at least dodge, but the brunet stood there without making any effort to get out of the way. His student was supposed to get hurt for his ignorance, only there was no explosion.

"W-What?"

Hayato looked at the fallen dynamites in disbelief. He had been working with bombs for years, so he knew when a stick was lit or not.

And he was dead sure he lit them before throwing the batch towards his target.

The bomber whipped out more bombs from under his clothes, lit, and threw them again. None of them exploded.

But Hayato couldn't give up. He had to do better.

Repeating his previous attacks with added extra dynamite sticks, he lit them all at once with practiced precision. "Triple bomb!"

Before Hayato could throw the third batch, the tip of his dynamites stopped crackling. He then saw why none of his bombs exploded.

Reborn heard Tsuna whisper something that made his blood run cold.

"Zero point breakthrough…"

'No way…'

Seeing his only weapon defective, Hayato dropped his bombs and lunged at Tsuna. Close-combat wasn't his forte, but it was his only option if he wanted to make the fight believable.

He would fight till the very end.

Since the beginning, Hayato knew that Tsuna was more than qualified to be Vongola Decimo. The kid was brimming with sky flames and gaze more intense than most of the mafioso he met in his lifetime. One single stare was enough to make him shiver in fear.

But a tiny part in Hayato's heart believed that Tsuna wasn't the bad guy everyone ( including himself ) painted him to be. He had no proof or reason to support that belief. He just did.

The life Hayato lived wasn't a good one. Being an illegitimate child of a mafia big shot living in a crazy household, he ran away from his so-called 'home' at a very young age. He became a freelance hitman to survive in a world where he belonged nowhere. Every door he turned to would shut at his face. All the mafia bosses he worked for took him in only to throw him away after they no longer have any use of him.

Tsuna was the only _boss_ who hadn't drove him away, at least not yet.

Maybe dying in the hands of the brat wouldn't be so bad.

Swift and silent, while Hayato aimed to punch the daylight out of his opponent, Tsuna simply stretched his hands as if welcoming the other into an embrace, expression unreadable. When they were close enough, Tsuna held both of Hayato's cheeks.

Everything happened so fast, all Hayato could remember was a sharp cold touch before his vision engulfed in white. The rest of his bodily senses cut off from his conscious.

He fell limp in Tsuna's arms.

.

Kyoya loved watching the petite brunet fight. Even when Tsuna held back, it was forever mesmerizing to see how he made _silencing_ people look so fucking effortless.

Reborn tried to step in, but Kyoya stopped him from approaching the battling duo. He didn't expect the sudden twist he failed to notice earlier. Knowing what Tsuna could do, Hayato would undoubtedly lose, possibly killed.

"Don't interfere, infant." Kyoya warned.

"This has nothing to do with you."

"Trust me, infant. You don't want to interfere when he's like this."

As if on cue, Reborn felt an overwhelming presence replacing the usual icy air of his student. It was warm, almost welcoming...

 _'Like the ideal boss Nono wanted. An all compassionate and welcoming sky.'_

Reborn didn't know what to believe anymore.

Tsuna laid the unconscious teen on the floor, hands never lost contact with the teen. He moved his hands so they were touching Hayato's, forming some sort of connection.

"Aren't you going to move him somewhere?" Kyoya asked the brunet.

'Tsuna' shook his head.

"Hn. Then what do you want me to do?"

" **Take… Reborn… Away…** "

Tsuna began coughing violently as if he wasn't used to talking. His voice sounded different, mature and serene, but with an accented grit to it.

Kyoya nodded at the command. Reborn put up a fight before being scooped up and taken away by the prefect. It was those moments that made him hate being trapped in an infant's body.

With Reborn in his arms, Kyoya gave one last look at Tsuna. A half-crazed smirk crept its way up the prefect's face. "You owe me a fight, _old man_."

" **Fine… Now go…** "

.

Kyoya ran as fast as he can to the reception room while carrying Reborn. He had a lot of explaining to do.

Who would've thought Tsuna's secret would be revealed that early? And after Kyoya tried to be as discreet as he could too…

Kyoya figured Tsuna would care more about saving a soul than keeping a low profile.

Damn it.

Damn it all.

"You have guts, Hibari Kyoya. Messing with mafia business can be fatal." Reborn said, his patience at a breaking point. He aimed his Leon-gun at the offending prefect. " _Zero Point Breakthrough_. Where did he learned that?"

Kyoya liked a good challenge, though Reborn was nowhere near as scary as _him_.

"Tsunayoshi figured it out himself."

"Even so, he called that skill 'Zero Point Breakthrough'. That name shouldn't be known to just anyone even in the mafia, much less a civilian, much- _much_ less a coincidence."

Reborn wasn't going to tolerate mind games. Tsuna flawlessly performed one of Vongola Primo's signature moves without lifting a finger. Even Nono had trouble controlling that skill.

Tsuna… Tsuna froze the tip of each tip of Hayato's dynamites with little to no effort. He didn't even need to enter Hyper Dying Will Mode to start using ZPB.

"I'll ask you again. Where did he learned that?"

The prefect gave Reborn a half-hearted glare. He hated _sharing_ informations of their past, but the hitman wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't.

"A year after Tsu and I met, things went downhill for him. Bullying happened and…" Kyoya shook his head. He didn't want to remember the first time Tsuna started getting involved with the dead, actively hurting himself in order to finish his stupid _missions_. Accidents weren't just accidents. Tsuna wasn't clumsy. He just…

Kyoya closed his eyes. The worst times had passed, and things were getting better for the both of them. Helping the dead had significantly been easier throughout the years.

Until the mafia showed up…

"Mafia or not, don't make things worse for him. He already has enough on his plate."

"What are you really planning, Hibari Kyoya?"

"Unless you've proven yourself an ally, I will not reveal anymore than I believe necessary. Tsunayoshi may have said that he didn't care if people finds out, but in the end, I make my own decisions."

"You're getting in the way of Vongola business." warned Reborn.

"An offense to Tsunayoahi is an offense to Namimori. I will not let the mafia take away a guardian."

Reborn didn't want to harm the teen, but if Kyoya won't listen, he would answer to Vongola's wrath. ( plus, finding another powerful cloud candidate would be a pain in the ass )

"You stepped into dangerous waters, Hibari. One wrong move, you'll be in their wanted list."

Kyoya just smirked, tonfas out and ready to attack. 'And I will do anything to protect one of Namimori's guardians, even if it means going against my sky's own wishes.'

Simple annoyance and resolution sparked and fueled a flame around the prefect. Literally. Purple fire coated his weapon in an angry blaze with a tail of the same flame condensed into a long whip-like extension.

Cloud flames.

Hibari freaking Kyoya had complete control of his flames.

.

Tsuna opened his eyes and found himself standing in total white space.

No sound. No shadow.

Only a canvas of untouchable white.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Said brunet turned around to face the voice who called his name. He smiled, relieved to have finally met the stranger he wanted to save. Tsuna stretched his hand out to the woman with silver hair.

Finally, he found the storm who cried for help.

"Found you."

The woman reached for Tsuna's hand and held it in her own. She was close to tears when she felt the warmth she could no longer feel after death. She missed the gentle touch of another person from the other side.

"It's a miracle to finally meet you, Signore Tsunayoshi. My name is Lavina."

"I'm glad to meet you too, Lavina-san. A meeting between 2 realms is always a miracle."

"But for _us_ , you are a different miracle few of us could chance upon; a deity for the dead. To think that _the_ Sawada Tsunayoshi was the person my Hayato is meeting…"

Tsuna laughed. Spirits always had a weird sense of complimenting him.

"Thank you, Lavina-san, but you spoke too highly of me. Outside, I'm just a normal human."

"They weren't lying when they said you're very down to earth."

"I-Is that so?"

Very weird indeed. They always over-exaggerate.

Right?

Lavina trembled as she squeezed Tsuna's hand. The look of hope present in her eyes. "Will you… listen to my request? I need you to deliver a message to Hayato."

'Ah. So that's her regret…'

"Lavina-san. If it is to deliver a message, I think telling him directly would be more fulfilling."

"Telling him directly…?"

"Mmm!" nodded Tsuna. "This place _is_ his soul. Let me lift his veil."

Tsuna closed his eyes, lifting the barrier which separates the 2 realms.

He didn't remember when was the first time he did such feats. It had always come naturally to him; faintly crossing the limit set to keep the balance between the living and the dead. Seeing and hearing ghosts, touching or destroying a soul, muttering whispers that only spirits understood, and countless more. Sawada Tsunayoshi could achieve things above and beyond everyone else; things quite literally out of this world.

Though temporary, he could even help another person cross their limits and reach further from life.

The connection inside clicked. Tsuna smiled, knowing that he had brought another person into the white space.

"Can you hear me, Gokudera-kun?" asked Tsuna.

A figure materialized near the two. Flawless emerald eyes widened when he found himself trapped in an unfamiliar place.

"Y-You! What did you do to me?!" Hayato pointed an accusing finger at the brunet who effortlessly defeated him. The sensation of standing in a dreamlike plane of space felt surreal, hollow, _wrong_ …

Lavina couldn't believe her eyes. Her son was there in front of her, only two hands out of reach. Her baby boy who she left too early in life stood with fury, but she saw weariness and depression in those eyes.

She blamed herself for all of her son's pain.

It was her fault.

If only she had told him the truth when she was still alive.

If only she had took him somewhere far away from all the underground madness, but she didn't have the heart to separate him from his father.

If only she let him know how much she loves him.

"Hayato…?" Lavina called out with a shaky voice, tears finally flowed freely down her pale cheeks. "Can you see me, Hayato…?"

Hayato's eyes widened in shock. The voice of his beloved late piano teacher echoed like music played by angels. The same voice which he grew to love, but haunted him like an old childhood curse.

The voice of his real mother.

There she was, standing in her ethereal form, crying with an evident smile on her face. What would Hayato call her? Teacher? Mother? Does he even had the right to call her that? After all, he was an unwanted good-for-nothing bastard.

Hayato bit his bottom lip as he fought the tears in his eyes. She wouldn't want a son like him. No one would.

"Hayato…" Lavina called again. "Hayato, please look at me…"

"Gokudera-kun. You have a message to you want to deliver as well, ne?" Tsuna forcefully pulled Hayato's wrist and joined the two's hands together. "Well, now's your chance."

"I…"

Tsuna let go of them and took a step back to give them a bit of privacy. He didn't want to interfere with the mother and son reunion.

Hesitantly, Hayato approached Lavina and slowly wrapped his arms around the woman's shoulder.

It felt real. Everything felt real. It wasn't an illusion. Everything was _real_.

"Is it okay if-… if I call you mom…?" Hayato asked in a hushed whisper.

Tsuna smiled. He knew Hayato would be able to lift Lavina's regret. With that, his part in the mission ended.

The brunet turned away to leave but Hayato's voice stopped him.

"S-Sawada-sama. I…"

Tsuna hovered a finger above his lips, giving the bomber a playful wink. "Shh. We'll talk after you're done here."

"How… How long do I have in here?"

"I'll give you all the time in the world, Gokudera-kun. Don't worry. I'll make sure nothing happens to you while you're here."

Hayato was touched. Someone in the world was willing to show him kindness. This Sawada stranger even gave him an opportunity to meet someone he never thought he would see again.

A regret he carried for 10 years slowly disappeared along with pain he bottled up since childhood.

"Thank you, Sawada-sama."

Tsuna smiled before fading into light, leaving Hayato alone to fix the regret of two souls.

.

That was intense.

Nobody except for Kyoya and Nana had seen him when he controlled Tsunayoshi's body. Hopefully, the sun arcobaleno didn't suspect anything wrong or different with _this_ Tsunayoshi.

Almost 4 hours had passed since Giotto took over. Tsuna was probably roaming around the thin realm between life and death while waiting to bring Hayato back to the physical world. In that 4 hours, Giotto had been holding Hayato's hand like his life depended on it.

Physical contact was the only way to lift the veil.

Giotto sighed. While he didn't mind doing all he can to help Tsuna's mission, something else plagued his mind.

'This Hayato person looks an awfully lot like G…'

He regretted not being able to live long enough to see his famiglia grow.

He regretted letting Vongola fall into the hands of mafia.

He regretted being an unremovable parasite in Tsuna's life, slowly draining the boy's life force. The only way to break the bond was for him to have his own regret lifted, which was impossible unless someone resurrects his dead guardians and revoke Vongola from its mafia status.

He regretted-

"Ngggh…"

The G-lookalike groaned as he tried to sit up.

" **Don't sit up too fast. Lie down. It helps you dull the nausea.** "

"Sawada-sama…" Hayato looked at 'Tsuna' with puppy eyes. His expression immediately brightened at the concern shown by his savior figure. "Sawada-sama!"

'Cute… Just like G when we were kids…'

"S-Sawada-sama! Is there something wrong?"

'Tsuna' shook his head, trying his best to pull off Tsunayoshi's natural smile.

"But, Sawada-sama… You look… upset."

'Tsuna' shook his head again. He wasn't upset in particular. In fact, nothing was wrong, at least that was what he believed.

" **Nothing is wrong, Hayato.** "

Hayato fell silent, face empty of emotions. He slowly sat up, body tensed in every small movement.

"You're… You're not Sawada Tsunayoshi…! Who are you?!"

The accusation took Giotto by surprise. Just by exchanging a few words, Hayato was able to tell Tsunayoshi and a stranger apart.

Will it be alright if Giotto trusted this storm with Tsuna's burden? Maybe this person was meant to be Tsuna's storm just as G was his.

What if he made the wrong decision by choosing a storm for Tsuna instead of letting the boy choose for himself.

"I won't ask again! Who are you?!"

Time to put the bomber to the test.

" **Why does it concern you? Is he** _ **that**_ **important to you? You barely know him."**

"Tch! Of course he is!"

" **Why?** "

"Because…! Because…"

" **Because?** "

"He's different from the other bosses I've met… Sincere, compassionate, accepting. He is the one I want to follow to the ends of earth."

Red glow swirled in Hayato's eyes as he clenched his fists in absolute determination. "And bet your ass, I will not let any force in this world to stand between me and him."

Giotto smiled. Hayato's determination was strong and real. The bomber would be a fine friend to Tsunayoshi, or maybe more.

'Tsuna' held out an accepting hand which Hayato skeptically accepted.

" **A pleasure to meet you, Hayato. My name is Giotto, Vongola's founder and ex-boss.** "

Hayato blinked and blinked before unceremoniously passing out in front of history's strongest boss.

.

They were walking towards the school gate after Giotto told Hayato the basics of Sawada Tsunayoshi's life.

Hayato was quick to absorb Tsuna's unique situation. All the spirits and mission nonsense-but-not-really made Hayato admire his future boss even more than before.

Not to mention, Giotto who was currently in control of Tsunayoshi's body was a UMA.

Holy shit. He had never met a UMA before.

" **Hayato, can you please not stare at me like that? Cute as you are, you're scaring me a bit.** "

"Forgive me, Giotto-sama!"

It was almost 8 p.m.

Hayato was well enough to walk. Giotto decided to invite Hayato over to the Sawada residence after listening to the bomber's harsh life. The ghost didn't want the poor teen to stay alone in some unknown rented apartment with who-knows-what to eat.

Like any normal civilian, Giotto had invited the freelance assassin ( and also Tsuna's potential murderer ) to live with them in the Sawada residence. Nana would be thrilled to have another addition to the family.

" **Please don't call me Giotto. I don't want the mafia to notice I still exist within Tsunayoshi.** "

Hayato noticed that Giotto often said 'please'.

"As you wish, Sawada-sama!"

" **Shouldn't you give that name to Tsuna instead?** "

"Technically, you are a Sawada too, Sawada-sama. Plus, people would think that I'm calling for the same Sawada!"

'At least it's better than the nickname Kyoya calls me by…' Giotto thought.

" **Then what would you call Tsuna?** "

"… Jyuudaime…"

" **Hayato… I don't want the mafia to touch him, not when he's busy with his missions…** "

"Jyuudaime is Jyuudaime. It would be disrespectful otherwise!"

" **But-** "

"Jyuudaime is Jyuudaime." Hayato stubbornly stated.

Giotto sighed.

" **Fine, but you have to make a legit explanation if Reborn or anyone from the mafia asks.** "

Hayato beat his chest with a proud fist, eyes sparkling with confidence and… fondness?

Puppy.

Hayato was a puppy and nobody can convince Giotto otherwise.

"It's okay, Sawada-sama. Jyuudaime is the 10th person I've given my life to. That's more than enough reason to call Jyuudaime 'Jyuudaime'! He's… _my_ tenth."

" **What happened to the other 9?** "

"…" Hayato gave the possessed brunet a broken smile. He felt inferior compared to what Tsuna and Giotto had to go through everyday. He won't let any of his filth bother them. He was, after all, a bastard trash with no real value.

"It's not important, Sawada-sama."

Sensing Hayato's discomfort, Giotto pulled the bomber into a loose hug, hoping that his harmonic sky flames would calm the storm in the other's mind. Hayato unconsciously leaned forward, wrapping his own arms around 'Tsuna's' fragile waist.

"A-Am I interrupting s-something…?" asked a third voice.

Hayato almost shrieked at the voice. Almost.

Giotto recognized the voice as Mochida Kensuke; the fortunate bastard who got punched in the face by Tsuna one day ago.

"… It's okay… I won't tell anyone." The kendo captain looked away, a light pink dusted his cheeks. "I just thought you were dating Hibari."

" _ **Excuse me**_ **?** "

Mochida faked a cough. He didn't want to be caught snooping around the disciplinary chairman's love affair. "Anyway, I was waiting for you, da- Sawada. Rumor says you and Hibari usually leave school around 8."

"Bastard!" Hayato whipped out dynamites from his dimensional pocket; one between each slit of his fingers. "You were the one who hurt Jyuudaime yesterday!"

" **Ehehe… It's actually the other way around, Hayato… And please put those,"** Giotto pointed at the dynamites in Hayato's hands, " **away before you hurt yourself.** "

"If Sawada-sama says so…" said Hayato as he reluctantly put his dynamites back to wherever they came from. Giotto gave the bomber a complimentary pat on the head, earning another happy puppy look from the bomber.

" **So… What business do you have with me, Mochida-** _ **senpai**_ **?** " asked 'Tsuna', lips twisting into an expressionless smile.

Giotto might or might not have a slight dislike towards the kendo captain.

He wouldn't stoop so low as to hold a grudge. _The_ Vongola Primo doesn't hold grudges.

Mochida had never seen someone so innocent-looking, yet deadly at the same time. He wasn't sure if that emphasis in the last word meant good or bad. It felt like he was talking to a yakuza boss.

Haha.

"Well…" Mochida rubbed his neck, eyes averted anywhere but 'Tsuna'. "I just want to apologize for yesterday. I acted like a dick…"

" **As I remembered,** _ **I**_ **was the one who punched you in the face, senpai.** " 'Tsuna' said monotonously.

"Yes, but… Shit… What was I thinking, making Kyoko a prize like she's an object to be won?" Mochida did an awkward 75 angle bow. For that one time, he was willing to swallow his pride and apologize to the most 'dame' person in school. "After that punch yesterday, I feel like my head is thinking clearly for once. That is why…"

'Tsuna' smiled a rare smile; one he'd only show to those who deserved it. " **It's a relief to know you're free before it is permanent. Please don't apologize for something that is not your fault.** "

"Sawada, what?"

" **Nothing!** " 'Tsuna' laughed. " **Also, you why don't you try courting the girl again? Do it properly this time.** "

Mochida blushed a deep red, arms flailing front.

"I-Impossible, impossible, absolutely impossible! After what happened yesterday, I don't think Kyoko would-"

" **Give yourself a chance. I believe you can fix this, senpai.** "

"How would you know…"

" **Let's call it** _ **intuition**_ **.** "

Mochida brightened at 'Tsuna's words. Somehow he knew that the brunet was right. The kendo captain bowed one more time before shouting a thank you and dashed away. Giotto had a good guess as to where the other was going.

Hayato was amazed at Giotto's saintly aura. He mentally referred to Giotto as the Saint of Sky, a title given only to the warmest of warm, kindest of kind.

Hayato's brain exaggerated a bit there, but 'Sawada-sama is Sawada-sama so it's okay.'

"That was amazing, Sawada-sama! You handled everything flawlessly!"

" **Hahaha. Wait till you see Tsuna in action.** "

Giotto couldn't get enough of Hayato's puppy-ness. Kyoya never acted _that_ cute. Alaude's evil clone always called him with that ugly nickname. _'I'm not that old…'_

" **Let's go home, Hayato.** "

.

At the Sawada residence, with the help of Tsuna's possessed body, Giotto told Nana the whole story. As expected from the kind and loving mother, she welcomed Hayato into the family, going as far as to plan on clothes shopping for the teen tomorrow.

Everything was fine, though Nana made an odd request of letting Hayato sleep in Tsuna's room while she spends the next few days redecorating the extra rooms for the silver-haired teen.

While making dinner, Nana suddenly snapped out of her happy hums. She looked at 'Tsuna' dead in the eye. "But this is bad…"

Hayato flinched. Something told him he wouldn't like what Nana was going to say. Leaving the dining table would be too rude, so he was trapped there without any means of escape.

Giotto was the first to voice out his thought. " **Bad?** "

"Why, the inevitable competition!"

" **I am not aware of any competitions going on, mama.** "

"Silly, Gio-kun~ It's for Tsu-kun's hand in marriage!

" **…** "

Hayato pretended that he heard nothing and stay as invisible as possible. The blush on his face didn't help his cover.

"Or maybe a joint wedding?" Nana thought out loud.

" **Mama.** _ **No**_ **.** "

.

Tsuna regained control over his body in the middle of dinner. He thought he was going to _wake up_ in Kyoya's house, not eating dinner with his mom and the person who tried to kill him some time ago.

"Welcome back, Tsu-kun~" greeted his cheerful mother.

"Hi, mom, Gokudera-kun."

"Jyu… JYUUDAIME! WELCOME BACK!"

Tsuna was confused. What the hell happened when Giotto took over?

"I'm sorry, Gokudera-kun, but what is going on?"

"You defeated me in a fair battle. For that, I now serve you until my last breath, Jyuudaime!"

Tsuna stood up from the table and hit Hayato's head with a spoon. Nana laughed at her son's silly behavior.

"I don't want to hear any of that. Understand, Gokudera-kun?" scolded the brunet. The kicked puppy look on Hayato's face had no affect on Tsuna who cared very little for those kind of things.

"Yes, Jyuudaime…"

Hayato wasn't sure which part of his sentence did Tsuna disapproved, but he didn't want to risk his new boss' wrath, silencing himself by biting his tongue. Somehow, Tsuna was a _lot_ more intimidating than Giotto. The little brunet looked like those civilian-looking assassins, only cuter and more innocent…?

Throw away that innocent baby-face and the semi-permanent cute confused bunny look, Tsuna radiated 'DANGER' all over.

"Keeping your subordinates in check is a good trait to have. Good job, Tsuna." commented a squeaky voice from the table.

Nobody heard Reborn coming into the kitchen. The infant casually sipped his coffee while reading italian newspaper.

Hayato was close to flipping the table out of shock.

"You people suddenly pop out of nowhere. Like daisies." Tsuna deadpanned. He gave his mother a questioning glance. "Is this how normal people function?"

"Now, now, Tsu-kun. Don't be rude~ You like popping out of thin air yourself." scolded Nana with a fake pout, all too happy with having people at the dinner table for once.

"…? I pop out of thin air?" Tsuna glanced around the room, looking for his ' _person to refer to if stumbled upon the unknown_ '. The ghost was nowhere in sight.

"Jyuudaime can pop out of thin air…" muttered Hayato under his breath. Maybe Giotto wasn't the only UMA in the house. It made him admire Tsuna more than before ( if that was even possible ).

"Gokudera-kun, why are you calling me Jyuudaime? I'm the tenth of what?"

Reborn shot Hayato a look that promises hours of unpleasant torture. They made an agreement to delay telling Sawada Tsunayoshi the truth until the Decimo candidate was proven harmless towards Vongola.

"I… Uh… I- We- We're playing a game!" Hayato lied straight to Tsuna's face. Right then, he remembered Giotto telling him about Tsuna's Hyper Intuition. It was almost impossible to lie past him.

Hayato heard a soft click. Reborn was holding something green in his hand.

The hitman might as well spill and get the training started. "Dame-Tsu-"

Tsuna smiled as he stood up to put his plate in the sink, _accidentally_ interrupting the hitman. "Is that so? It's nice of you to play with Reborn, Gokudera-kun!"

"Y-Yeah…"

Tsuna patted Hayato's head like one would do to a cat. The touch was cold compared to Giotto's.

"I'm heading out, so stay here and make yourself comfortable." Tsuna whispered to Hayato. "I assume Giotto told you everything?"

Hayato nodded.

"Good."

Tsuna went upstairs to change before going out to his nightly patrol, leaving Nana, Reborn, and Hayato in the kitchen.

"We have a lot to talk about, Gokudera Hayato. I've been watching you two since you left the school gate. For one, your record didn't say anything about you talking gibberish."

Good thing Giotto explained before. Not everybody is given the privilege to understand words coated by the will of the dead. One must understand, believe, and accept the world Tsuna lived in, then Tsuna will work his magic.

To be honest, Hayato still didn't understand what that meant. It didn't matter as long as he could serve the person who let him see his mother one last time.

"Reborn! What is this net thing hanging in my room?!" came the shouting of one frustrated brunet from the upper floor.

.

Tsuna was on his way to a nearby park to write his mission report when Giotto appeared beside him.

"He's lying, you know." said the ghost. He had been watching from afar, but not too close for the arcobaleno to notice any weird forces haunting the house.

"I know."

"Then why did you pretend to not notice?"

"They seem to be hiding the real reason why they're here. I want to see what they will do."

"Are you sure leaving it like this is fine?"

Tsuna didn't reply. He did his usual report at the empty park and went back home sometime after midnight. The brunet snuck into his bed, giving zero care if he woke up his 2 new roommates.

.

Reborn slept peacefully in the hammock he graciously set in Tsuna's room, much to Tsuna's protest. The tutor should at least ask for permission.

Tsuna looked at the clock on his desk. Red '01:34' flashed dimly in the dark.

The brunet sighed. Now that Reborn was there, he wasn't able to go on his usual nighttime walks to enjoy the company of his _friends_.

Just when he was about to force himself to sleep, his private phone vibrated. Tsuna thought it was Kyoya calling him. Who else would?

The teen looked at the screen and instantly recognized the number. It was a number he often had to call, and a number often calling him for various reasons. He hitched a breath in and pressed the green button harder than he intended.

"Hello. T-This is Sawada Tsunayoshi." Tsuna answered weakly. His grip on the phone tightened at his accidental stutter.

-"Sawada-san, this is 1F ICU office from Namimori Hospital, and… Well… The girl you brought in this morning didn't make it."

Ah. Tsuna recognized the voice. It was one of the leading nurses from the emergency ward. The ward would ask her when it comes to contacting a certain brunet who randomly brings in half-dead people at very random times. Sasaki-san was her name.

-"We're sorry. We know you have no connections to her whatsoever, but we couldn't contact any of her relatives, and-"

"I understand. I'll be there soon. Please keep her in her room until I arrive."

-"Forgive us for the trouble, Sawada-san."

"It's okay. I found her, so it's my _responsibility_."

.

"It's okay. I found her, so it's my responsibility."

Tsuna was either unaware that Reborn had been listening to his every word or he just didn't care. Maybe Kyoya was right about Tsuna not hiding anything from anyone.

Pretending to be asleep, Reborn waited for Tsuna to go somewhere as promised over the phone. When the hitman was sure Tsuna was out, he let out a sigh.

Knowing that chasing or searching the brunet would be a waste of effort, Reborn used the time he had to analyze and reevaluate his accomplishments so far. 3 days had passed since his initial arrival.

He hadn't forged any foundation to his relationship with his student. He didn't trust Tsuna and Tsuna sure as hell didn't trust him. Reborn needed to fix that. Fast.

At least Tsuna had a storm and a cloud guarding his back. 4 more until the set of guardians complete.

Yamamoto Takeshi caught his interest. He was a natural born hitman who swings a baseball bat like a professional with a weapon. If only he wouldn't look at Tsuna the way others looked at said brunet.

No matter. Reborn planned to give Tsuna a little push to jumpstart a friendship with the potential rain.

Sun would definitely be Sasagawa Ryohei. The physically strong boxing captain would make Reborn's work easier. With a bit of training and significant knowledge pounded into his brain, Ryohei would be a fantastic guardian. Reborn deemed his personality adequate.

Finding lightning and mist would be close to impossible. There had been no suitable or potential guardian around Namimori. Reborn had to find a candidate outside, maybe bring in someone from Italy like he did with Smokin' Bomb Hayato.

Guardians aside, Reborn had problems keeping an eye on Tsuna. 'That kid disappears whenever he pleases…'

Reborn considered getting an unremovable collar with a tracking device. Yes. Definitely a perfect gift for his lovely new student.

There was still the mystery of clawed and burnt paper when he first arrived at Tsunayoshi's bedroom. Those papers mysteriously disappeared the following night. Maman knew nothing about it.

He didn't even want to think about Tsuna's ability to use _the_ Zero Point Breakthrough without going into HDWM.

Worst of all, he hadn't told Tsuna of his true mission of training the Vongola Decimo. Despite his orders from Nono, Reborn felt that immediately telling Tsuna the truth would end badly. By keeping the Tsuna out of the mission, Reborn risked going against orders, which could end unfavorably at his end of the rope.

The hitman didn't know why he was so willing to take that risk.

.

Tsuna stood beside the bed of a deceased girl, grasping a hand colder than his own.

A pity someone so young had to be a victim of physical abuse, even worse when the abuse was done by their own parents. Tsuna willed the guilt out of his mind, fully aware that none of it was his fault, yet he felt the need to take the blame.

In his lifetime, his intuition pulled him towards the right place at the right time, interfering many child abuse situations. And each time, he was too late.

The one and only time he did save someone from such a fate was Kyoya. It was _hell_.

"Do you have any regret?" Tsuna asked the corpse.

A translucent figure of the same dead girl appeared at the other side of the bed, opposite to Tsuna. Her torso was bloodied with stab wounds, but the smile on her face assured Tsuna that she was alright.

"Not anymore now that you're here." spoke the ghost, her voice eerie and light, yet laced with affection. "Nobody cared for me before. You're the first, and that's enough for me, Sawada-kun."

"Eh?" Tsuna blinked in confusion. Maybe he had met the girl before? "You know my name?"

"The dead speaks fondly of you. You seek their regret and lifted them just as you had lifted mine." The ghost girl felt herself pulled into the afterlife, body slowly fading until she was no more. Her voice echoed in the room one last time. "All I wanted was for one person to notice me. Thank you, Sawada-kun."

Tsuna felt the spirit disappear for good.

.

Leaning against the door, Giotto frowned in worry for his descendant's safety. The dead wanted to claim Tsuna through death. The living wanted a mafia boss sitting on the throne of the bloodiest famiglia in history.

Giotto had been quiet all day, speaking only when necessary. Who wouldn't when you see someone else wearing the face of your dead best friend?

He witnessed the interaction between Hayato and Tsuna. Hayato reminded him of G when they were still very young.

Biting back a sob, he put up his best smile.

He must not burden Tsuna with his own feelings. Tsuna had bigger things to deal with.

'Shit… What should I do…?'

.

 **Extra ( 1 / 2 ):**

Nana hummed a childhood tune as she mopped the floor near the house entrance. She always loved cleaning the house Iemitsu bought to start their new family together.

"Together…" Nana whispered to herself.

She wished things would go back to the way it was when Iemitsu was home and Tsuna still loved the world.

Without the love of her life and her only son home most of the time, Nana felt a little lonely inside.

But she didn't mind. She knew her husband worked hard to earn their living, and she knew about Tsuna's _missions_. Besides, Nana wasn't as alone as everyone thought. Kyoya would sometimes visit and Giotto made his presence known by leaving soot or frost around the place. She never denied Giotto's existence when Tsuna first told her about the italian ghost.

Behind her, the door opened with a soft click.

"Mom?"

"Welcome home, Tsu-kun~! I thought you're staying over at Kyoya-kun's-"

Her words died in her throat when two scarred arms wrapped tightly around her. For a second, the world stood still.

Tsuna buried his face into the crook of his mother's neck. He didn't remember her mother being that thin.

Nana lifted her arms and returned the hug. 'Ah. His average body temperature dropped again.'

Tsuna's voice muffled under the embrace, but Nana heard him loud and clear.

 _"I'm glad you're my mom._ "

 **Extra ( 2/2 ) :**

Kyoya laid restless on his futon. His body was covered with bullet grazes from the previous fight with Reborn. Even with his full power, he wasn't able to end the battle, resulting in a draw. Both sides sustained damage.

The outcome of the battle angered him. That _Reborn_ held back.

Kyoya sighed. No use getting angry over a smaller target. He was much more interested in another bigger predator.

The prefect checked his phone. 2 a.m. No messages from Tsu. He sighed.

Looking at the moon through the gap of the sliding door, Kyoya felt a sudden rush of melancholy washing over him.

 _Another broken promise._

'Ah. I forgot about my promise to get pizza with Tsu.'

 _ **To be continued...**_

.

 **Omake! (1/1) :**

During their friendly interrogation in the reception room back in chapter 3, Reborn ran out of important questions to ask. He could end the 20-questions at that time, but why stop there? He already answered Kyoya's previous question so the prefect owed him a free answer.

"So… Are you married to Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"What."

"His mother insisted you both are married."

"… What."

"You and him are awfully close. Evidence say you know him best."

"Yes, but-"

"So you're married."

Nope.

Kyoya didn't need to answer shit.

He walked up to the infant, picked him up, walked out of the room, and put him on the ground before slamming the door shut. The prefect then massaged the bridge of his nose, bracing himself for a coming headache.

"Italians…" Kyoya cursed. A large part of him had the sudden urge to bite a blond dead-but-not-really-dead italian old man to death. It had to be his fault.

It _had_ to be.

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **\- Eyyyyy. Bet y'all didn't expect that one! _(:3JL)_ ( but it's kinda obvious since Gokudera isn't dead thus not a ghost )**

 **"They popped out of the snow! Like daisies!" - Mu Shu, Mulan 1998.**

 **( author laughs at self for 3 million years )**

 **ANSWERS :**

 **Q : Will there be BL/yaoi? A : Haha. I was wondering when people will ask the ultimate question. If everything goes according to plan, then… no? I mean, I'll hint ONE b/b pair, but it won't be very obvious…? They're basically just stand there and acknowledge each other's presence without saying anything, but the attraction is there. And no. It's not Tsuna. I don't really want to involve any romance for this fic. Even if there are, I would like to keep it at a minimum. ( unless there are reasonable requests? )**

 **THERE WILL BE BROMANCE THOUGH.**

 ***cue Ryan Higa's bromance song***

 **Then again, anything can happen. Plans change all the time, so no promises.**

 **Next chapter :**

 **\- Marshmallow's nonsense.**

 **\- FINALLY Reborn actually talking to Tsuna.**

 **\- Gokudera tasting a piece of Tsuna's ass- (authorkickedbyGiotto) -Uh, I mean seeing a piece of his precious Jyuudaime's world.**


End file.
